


Knight Rider AS Season 1

by LyndaBehling



Category: Knight Rider (1982), Knight Rider (2008)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Multi, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-12
Updated: 2014-08-13
Packaged: 2018-02-12 20:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 49,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2124180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyndaBehling/pseuds/LyndaBehling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>New FLAG, new KITT, new Driver, except something goes horribly wrong.  Samuel Knight can no longer take the wheel and the project is doomed before it can even start.  It's up to his sister, Katherine, to take over.  There's just one problem, she and KITT don't exactly get along...<br/>Now Playing: S01E04 - The Knight Before Christmas II</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pilot - Part 1

**Episode 1 - Pilot**

**Chapter 1**

_*December, 2014*_

Knight Industries Warehouse #1 – S.E.S, NYC, New York

Charles Graiman sat in an undefined black car in the middle of a wide empty space.  Various workstations surrounded him, quiet and abandoned.  He leaned his head back into the headrest and sighed heavily.

“Samuel Long is dead."  He spoke sombrely.  "The official report says it was accidental, but of course that is false."  He paused for a moment, then continued his monologue.  “We have no choice but to continue the project without him.  We have very little time to train another driver.  We need an individual who can learn the basics, just to get through the first mission, while we train another driver for the long term.  The first mission starts in two weeks.  That is our only window of opportunity, and you are the only one that can take that opportunity.”  He placed one hand on the dark dashboard.

“Fortunately, I already have a candidate in mind.  Katherine Long, Samuel Long's younger sibling.”  He smiled.  “David will be surprised.  He had considered Katherine at first, but he felt that Samuel was more capable.”

He ran his hand along the dash gently, almost lovingly.  “It'll soon be time for you to wake up permanently.  Your training is almost done as well.  Soon we shall see what kind of existence you will be.”

 

********

 

Cannon Air Force Base - Curry County, New Mexico

Kat woke just before the alarm went off.  Her hand came down on the digital clock just as the music started to blare.  She rolled sleepily out of bed.  A strong arm reached out, pulling her back in.

She extricated herself carefully out from under the arm.  “I gotta go,” she whispered.  It was still dark out.  Her clock read 4:00AM.

“Damn pilots and their early hours," her companion muttered.

“And damn those intelligence officers that get to sleep in till oh-five-hundred," she teased him.  She leaned over, kissing him on the cheek before climbing back out of the narrow bed.  She headed for the bathroom.

After a hot shower she was fully awake.  She stood in her tiny kitchen, stirring her tea while she listened to her messages.

Her kitchen was tiny, but cozy.  Her fridge was the mini kind, sitting up on the counter.  That, a coffee maker and a hot plate made up her major appliances.

She loved it though.  It was all hers.  She had lucked out when the barracks had overfilled and they had offered her this tiny apartment.  It was in the building that generally housed families, but this space was too small to fit more than one person comfortably.

“First message, from yesterday, at 9:37 AM.”  Her machine droned in an synthetic female voice.

“Hey Sis, it's me Sam!”  Her brother's exceedingly cheerful voice bubbled into the tiny space.  “Sorry I haven't had a chance to call you in so long.  I’m working on a new project, very hush-hush.  You know how it is.  I wish I could introduce you to my new partner.  I think you two would really hit it off.”  Kat rolled her eyes.  He was always trying to fix his single little sister up with his friends.

“I don't know how many more times I'll get a chance to call you.  I wanted to tell you that Christmas was out.”  She raised an eyebrow, glancing at the calendar.  It was a tiny thing that sat on her fridge next to a postcard.  The postcard depicted a silver Camaro.  The words 'Wish you were here! - Sam' were scrawled underneath it.

She looked back at the machine as her brother's voice turned more serious.  “I'm going to be on this project for quite a while.  I mean, a really long time.  But it's worth it.  I'm going to be doing a lot of good.  I hope you understand.”

Kat raised her eyebrows.  Was he telling her goodbye?  She sipped at her tea and frowned.  Her brother was always getting himself into reckless situations.  He was supposed to be the older one, too.

Warm arms wrapped around her waist from behind.  “You made me coffee," Daniel crooned into her ear.

She handed him a disposable Styrofoam cup, complete with lid.  “See you in a few weeks," she said to him.  She was being preemptive, she knew it.  He would leave soon, and it was always easier to tell him goodbye rather than the other way around.

He frowned.  “I can come by again sooner than that.”  He pouted.

Kat almost laughed.  “Right.  I'll believe that when I see it.”

He hugged her tighter.  “You're too caught up in your career.  You need more time to yourself.”  He kissed her neck lightly.

She slid out of his arms expertly, holding her tea up and out of harm's way.  “Daniel, you know that you are just as caught up in your own career.  We don't like having free time, that's what makes us work.”  She retreated to her bedroom to get dressed.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.  “Yeah, you're right," he said to the empty kitchenette.

 

********

 

A few hours later, she was in the air.

This was what she lived for.  Captain Katherine Long was a pilot for Cannon Air Force Base.  Currently, she was flying the X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing.  Testing for this jet had completed a few short years ago, and they were starting to commission them.

She was running through her drills when her Commander radioed her.  “Captain Long, land immediately.  There's someone down here to see you.”

Kat frowned behind her mask.  This was highly unusual.  Her Commander's voice sounded strained.  She chanced a little insubordination, to see how serious the situation was.  “Sir, can't it wait until after the drills?” she asked.

There was a tense pause.  “No it cannot, Captain.  Land immediately.”  Quite serious then.

Kat slipped easily out of her drill formation, heading back down to earth.  Her heart sank a little like it always did when she had to land.

Once on the ground, she ran into the hangar, her helmet under her arm.  She shook out her long brown hair.  She saluted her Commander when she saw him, and waited.

“Good, you're here.  Follow me, Captain.”  He turned and lead her into a small sectioned-off part of the hanger.  Once behind the hastily erected partitions, he left her there with the only other occupant.

Kat studied the man seated at the folding table.  He wore an expensive suit, his black hair was professionally styled, and a shiny black briefcase lay on the table in front of him.  She disliked him immediately.

“You wanted to see me about something?” she asked.

The man smiled at her, showing off some rather sharp incisors.  “Yes, Miss Long.  Please have a seat and let me introduce myself.”

Kat hesitated, then sat in the folding chair across from the man.  She placed her helmet on the table.  “That's Captain Long," she said quietly.

“Of course," the man said dismissively.  He wasn't paying attention to her.  He popped open his briefcase.  “My name is David Marks.  I work for Knight Industries.”  He looked over the open lid of the briefcase at her.  “I am sure you’ve heard of us.”

Kat nodded.  “Of course, I've flown some of your jets.”

“Yes, we are very proud of our numerous government contracts.”  David smiled, obviously pleased.  “We have many projects, some for the government, some private.”  His smiled widened.  “And some both.”

She gave him a quizzical look.  “What is it that you want from me?” she asked, feeling impatient.

“I came here today to proposition you for one of our more classified projects.”  He handed her a sheaf of papers from the briefcase.  The letters across the top grabbed her eye immediately: F.L.A.G.

“You guys need a pilot?” she asked, still confused.

“In a manner of speaking.  We want you to drive a highly experimental car for us.  With the purpose of taking on unorthodox and possibly dangerous missions.”  He was still smiling, like he was offering her an exceptionally shiny toy.

“A car?” she asked, frowning.  “I'm a jet pilot.”  She smiled tightly.  “Isn't that a step down?”

He waved his hand dismissively.  “This is no ordinary car, I assure you.”

“It doesn't matter how extraordinary this car is.  It's still not a jet," Kat countered.  “My life is in the sky.”

“We're willing to increase your salary substantially," he persuaded, folding his hands together.

Kat tossed the papers back across the table to him.  “Keep it," she said, getting to her feet.

“I'm afraid you're going to want to sit back down," David said to her, his voice losing all trace of pleasantness.  His dark eyes turned icy.

She gave him a cool look in return. “Why should I?”  She was annoyed by this guy.  Who did he think he was?  Certainly not her Commander.

“I have information that may persuade you to join us, at least temporarily.”

Kat hesitated, but didn't retake her seat.  “What information?”

He pulled out a dossier file from his briefcase.  Kat recognized the picture in the corner immediately.  “Major Samuel Long was hired by us six months ago.  He has been undergoing training since then.  Due to highly confidential circumstances, he is unable to complete his first mission, which is two weeks away.  The Department of Homeland Security has offered us a sort of trial mission.  If we do not complete it on time, then we will lose our contract with them.”

Kat's eyes narrowed.  “So you approach Sam Long's sister, hoping she'll help her big brother out?”

There was a glint in David's eyes.  “Something like that.”

“And I would be working for you directly?”  That was a nightmare waiting to happen.

He nodded.  “I am the Director of FLAG, but you will be working mostly with Charles Graiman, KITT's creator, and KITT.”

“Kit?” Kat asked questioningly.

David held up the papers she had tossed back to him.  “It's all right here.”  He pushed them back to her, along with a lengthy looking contract and a silver pen.  “This contract only covers the first mission, and binds you to secrecy of all people, places, and events involved.  You'll have to sign a new contract when you decide to stay on permanently.”

Kat bristled as she picked up the pen.  “I'm just going to help my brother out, that's all," she told him.  She pulled the contract over and signed her name at the bottom.  She flipped through it, signing on all the dotted lines.  When she was done, she tossed the pen back to him.  “I've got some vacation time coming anyway.”

David slid the pen into his inside jacket pocket.  “You would consider working for FLAG a vacation?”  He looked highly amused.

“Compared to what I have here?”  Kat held out her hands.  As if on cue, there was the scream of a jet close overhead.  The table and chairs rattled on the floor.  “Yes, I do.”

David smiled that venomous smile of his.  “Interesting.”  He stood up, placing the signed contract back into the briefcase.  “That's yours.”  He indicated the FLAG papers still on the table.  Kat picked them up.  “We leave immediately.  A helicopter is already fueled up and waiting to take us to the facility.  Belongings will be provided to you, so there is no reason to return to your domicile.”

Kat's eyebrows pushed together.  She really didn't like this guy; he set her teeth on edge.  Was she supposed to just drop everything?  Leave with just the clothing on her back?  “What if I had a cat or something?” she asked, irritated.

“You belong to FLAG for the time being, Miss Long.  It will have to fend for itself," he answered, already walking away.

Kat glared after him.  “That's Captain Long," she reminded his back.  He ignored her.  “Good thing I wasn't baking a cake," she muttered as she followed.  “It would have to fend for itself.” 


	2. Pilot - Part 2

F.L.A.G Underground Facility

During the helicopter ride, Kat looked over the FLAG papers.  They included a basic diagram of the car, K.I.T.T, which stood for Knight Industries Three Thousand.  Most of it looked simple to her, but there was some parts that were confusing.  She would have to wait till she saw the situation in person.

Thankfully, David vanished as soon as they touched down next to several small white buildings.  He ran off to one of the buildings after telling her to wait.  The helicopter took off, heading back to base.  Kat sighed, wishing she could hop right back on it.

She took in her surroundings.  She was somewhere out in the desert.  Death Valley, maybe?  There was no way to be sure.  There were three or four small, low buildings here.  What kind of facility was this?”

A man came out of another building to greet her.  “Captain Katherine Long, I presume.”  He held out his hand and smiled at her kindly.

Kat took it, pumping once.  She liked this man much better than David, his smile was genuine.  He was late into middle age, with snowy white hair, but she wouldn't call him old.  He held himself straight, and his eyes were sharp behind his glasses.

“The one and only," she answered him.

“My name is Charles Graiman.  I am immensely relieved to see that you're joining us.”  She could see that relief plain on his face.

She frowned.  “Only temporarily.  I'm just here to help Sam out of a tight spot.”  She looked around.  “Is he here?”

Charles shook his head.  “I'm afraid not.”  He turned from her then.  “This way please.”  He led her into the small building he had come out of.

This was the smallest building.  The only thing in it was an elevator and a guard desk.  The guard behind the desk waved them through, not even looking up from the newspaper he was reading.

The elevator went down a long way.  This made Kat a little uneasy.  She stared up at the ceiling.  “Claustrophobic?” Charles asked.

Kat shook her head.  “I just hate being so far away from the sky...”

The elevator opened up into another room with a guard desk.  This guard was alert and sat behind a thick pane of bulletproof glass.  Charles swiped a card through a scanner and the guard buzzed them through.  There was another door, and then they were in a hallway.

“The residential section is down this way," Charles told her as he led her through a maze of corridors.  He opened a door, gesturing for her to step inside.

“These will be your quarters for the duration of your stay with us.  You will be sharing with Angela, our Disguise Artist.  Every member of the Team lives here on the Compound," he explained.

“They all live here?” Kat asked in disbelief.  She looked around the small room.  It held two tiny loft beds, which were over two desks.  A flat screen TV was placed on the wall.  It seemed more like a prison cell than living quarters.

He nodded seriously.  “Oh yes, all of the employees here have given up their old lives.  Too much outside contact poses a security risk.”  He grimaced.  “I know it's a little spartan, but you won't be spending much time in here.  There is too much work to be done.”

“And my brother signed up for this willingly?”  Kat snorted.  “This must be one hell of a car.”

Charles smiled at her.  “You have no idea.”  There was a sympathetic look in his eyes just then.  Before Kat could contemplate it, he spoke again.  “Let me show you the Main Lab next," he offered graciously.

She gave him a skeptical look.  “You're the car's creator, don't you have work to do?  Can't you get a subordinate to give me the tour?  Why am I getting the red carpet treatment?”

“I will admit that I enjoy seeing the reactions newcomers have when they meet KITT," he confided.

Kat arched a brow, but followed the older man out of the room.  “Men," she muttered under her breath.  Were they all so obsessive about cars?  Maybe it was genetic.

 

********

 

“I wonder what the new driver will be like," Carmen, the Head Mechanic, mused.  Aloud, as she did most of her thinking.  She sat on the floor next to K.I.T.T.  Various unidentifiable grease-covered bits of metal were laid out before her.

Laid right out on the bare floor, Pierce, the Head Computer Technician, noted with narrowed blue eyes.  “Could have at least put something under them," he muttered to himself from his desk.

“Is it okay to introduce a new driver today?  It's only been a day,” K.I.T.T asked pensively.  The red light on his hood flowed back and forth with his anxiety.

“Sooner the better, really,” Carmen said, shrugging her petite shoulders.  “Deadline is in two weeks.  David assured the Homeland Security guy that you could handle this.  And he won't let a setback like this ruin his image.”  She snorted, showing her opinion of David's image.  “I just hope the new guy doesn't bomb.  That's all we need, this project shut down before it even begins.”  She spoke darkly.

“Knight Industries is a privately held company,” K.I.T.T reminded her.  “I'm sure they'll find a use for me.”

Carmen gave his hood a straight look.  “If they don't get this contract, then you'll be staring at the walls of a warehouse for quite some time.  And I'll get the boot.”

She chose a bit of metal and slid under the Camaro.  She changed the subject.  “I wonder if the new driver will be as cute as Sam, now there was a man you could-”  She slipped easily into rapid Spanish while she worked under the car.

“Carmen, please have some respect for the dead,” K.I.T.T chastised her calmly.

She slid out from under the car.  “Oh, I am being very respectful,” she assured him.  “I saw Sam in the shower that one time, you know.”

“You did not!” Pierce cut in from across the wide space.  His frown was disapproving.  “Stop telling lies, Carmen.”

Carmen got to her feet, wiping her hands on a grimy rag.  She stuck her tongue out at Pierce.  “Maybe I'm lying, maybe I'm not.  What's it to you?”

“I won't have you corrupting KITT," he replied, rising out of his chair.  He walked over, and addressed K.I.T.T.  “I would like to try out a new program.”

K.I.T.T opened the driver's door and Pierce sat in the front seat.  “This one works with your nano-skin.  It will help you generate any license plates you need.  It will also hook you directly to the DMV's database.  You can now become any car, on the record as well as off.”  He smiled triumphantly.  “Test it out.”  He slipped the mini flashcard into a slot on K.I.T.T's dash.

Carmen wrinkled her nose.  “Why would KITT want to be any other car, he's fabuloso as he is.”

Pierce rolled his eyes, pushing his glasses up his nose.  “Carmen, go to dictionary.com and look up the word 'espionage'.”

She gave him a withering look through the windshield.  He smiled back at her sweetly, baring his white teeth.

She whipped her rag against the side of K.I.T.T's hood, leaving a grease smudge on the perfect, glossy-black finish.  Pierce frowned at it.  “Come on KITT, don't mess around with that geek stuff.  You'll never pick up girls like that.”

K.I.T.T. changed through several license plates, ending up with one that just said K.I.T.T.  “I don't know about that.  This will be useful.  Thank you, Pierce.”  Pierce preened smugly.

The mechanic made a strangled noise in the back of her throat.  “Tell Carmen what kind of girls you like, KITT.  One with a nice transmission, am I right?  You're sexy enough, you could get any girl.”  She grinned, her large brown eyes sparkling.

Pierce scoffed before K.I.T.T had a chance to answer.  “Only you would find a car sexually appealing.”  Carmen opened her mouth to retort, but he cut her off.  “Besides, KITT wouldn't be interested in such trivial details as physical appearance.  He would appreciate a keen mind and pleasant personality.  Something that is sorely lacking from the females in the immediate vicinity.”  His blue eyes were frosty.

“I assure you that I have no idea what either of you are talking about," K.I.T.T answered.  His synthesized voice was calm, but slightly uncomfortable.

Carmen snickered.  She was looking up, as something on the upper walkway had caught her eye.  “Looks like we'll find out soon enough.”

Pierce looked up through the windshield.  “Charles is heading down.  You know the drill, KITT.”  He exited the car and shut the door.

“You have to let Papi have his fun,” Carmen teased.

The red light on K.I.T.T's hood went out.  He waited silently.  Carmen retreated quickly to her station.  Pierce took a pristine white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the grease smudge from K.I.T.T's finish before returning to his desk.

Charles led Kat down the metal staircase to the main floor.  The car sat in the center of the huge room, on a large, slightly raised circle.  Workstations surrounded it, mechanical on one side, computer on the other.  At least half a dozen technicians on both sides were working.  The air was alive with the hum of their activity.

Only two people met her eyes.  A small Hispanic young woman wearing coveralls was watching her intently, while wiping her greased covered hands on an even filthier rag.  Her expression was fierce and scrutinizing, obviously sizing her up.

Across the room, a tall, thin man sat behind a large, immaculate desk, watching her covertly over his wire-framed glasses.  He was pretending to work on the three different monitors on his desk, but Kat could tell that he was sizing her up as well.

They had two very different faces, one thin and pale, the other tanned and petite, but they wore identical expressions.

'They don't approve of me,' Kat thought.  She tried to think why that might be, just from looking at her.  Probably because she wasn't Sam.  Sam was a blindingly cheerful person.  He was also an unfailing optimist.  There was no one in the world who was more pure and caring and kind.  She always thought of him with pride.

Kat was a sharp-tongued pessimist.  It showed in her movements as well as her face and voice.  Compared to Sam's bright presence, she must have looked like rotting fish.

Charles stood next to the driver's side of the car.  Kat looked at it wonderingly.  Nervousness twisted her stomach.  She had never been a car person, but even she could appreciate the sleek look that hinted at a powerful machine underneath.  This car didn't need a huge spoiler, or a massive frame to look strong.  It was in the air around it.  She could see it in the way that Charles looked at it, with respect.

She also recognized it.

The Camaro that had been in Sam's postcard had been silver.  This one was painted a glossy black.  She could probably put on makeup by looking in the finish.

“The Fifth Generation Camaro concept car,” Kat remarked, feeling glad that she might sound knowledgeable instead of totally incompetent.  She silently thanked her brother.  “Specifically the GS Racecar Concept.”

Charles nodded.  “KITT's design was based on the Camaro.  You will find the interior has been modified.”  He gestured to the door.  “You're the only person who can open KITT's doors," he told her.  “He will recognize your fingerprints on the handle.  Yours alone.”

“That's convenient,” Kat remarked.  “I won't have to worry about losing my keys.”  She smiled weakly, trying to joke.  It didn't make the nervousness ease up.

Charles smiled at her encouragingly.  “Why don't you try it out?  Take a seat in the passenger's seat.”

Kat glanced through the windshield, noting that the steering wheel was on the left side of the car.  That was a relief, she only know how to drive on the right side of the road.  “You mean the Driver's seat, right?”  She arched a brow.

He shook his head.  A small smile played across his lips.  “Every seat in KITT is a passenger's seat.”

She gave him a strange look, but humored him, placing her hand on the door handle.  She heard the door unlock and pulled it open.  She slid into the cool leather seat, looking around the interior.  It looked like a normal car interior, only with more buttons.  The stereo was about the only thing where the buttons were marked.  The rest were unlabeled and enigmatic.  There were two extra meters next to the speedometers and fuel gauge as well.  She peered at them, but couldn't understand what they were supposed to measure.

“I know I am supposed to be impressed, but this all looks very complicated.”  She gestured to the dash.

“You'll learn the basic functions for your mission,” Charles assured her.  “We have a dedicated team that will help you through this as painlessly as possible.”

Kat took the wheel in her hands.  She could feel more tiny buttons under her fingers.  She would have to make sure not to grip the wheel too hard.  Though it was a good idea, this way she wouldn't have to look away from the road in order to press something.

“So, how do you feel?” Charles asked.

Kat looked around.  “It's roomier than a jet.”  She tried joking again.  “But, I don't know.  A car?  I guess I can handle this for one mission.  I'm used to unusual assignments.”

“And you, KITT?” Charles asked, looking to the stereo.

Kat blinked in surprise.  Was he seriously asking the car's opinion, or was he just playing around?  She remained quiet, giving him a skeptical look.

Charles frowned, obviously displeased with the silence.  “I asked a question, KITT.”

“Would you like me to answer honestly?” A synthesized voice asked tensely.  The equalizer display on the stereo lit up, bright green, the levels rising up and down with the voice.

“Of course, KITT,” Charles answered the voice.

Several things clicked in place in her mind.  Sam's postcard, that message about his new partner.  David's amused smile back at the hangar.  The way that Charles spoke of the car, with respect.  It was then that it hit Kat that the voice coming from the stereo was the car talking...

“Given the time restraints, I don't think this will work.  I didn't realize my new driver would be female," the car answered Charles.

Kat's spine was rigid as she felt heat rise up inside of her.  The car talked, and it was sexist.  Her fingernails dug into the steering wheel.

Charles saw the scowl forming on her face and opened his mouth to speak, but Kat beat him to it.  “Is there something wrong with me being a woman?” she asked tensely.  She wasn't going to let anyone treat her this way, especially not a car.

“I meant no disrespect to you, Miss Long,” K.I.T.T explained.  “My AI is designed to learn and adjust to my driver.  I have spent the last six months adjusting to Samuel.  I do not think that two weeks is enough time to do a complete reversal on everything I have learned.”

Kat gritted her teeth.  “That's Captain Long," she said through them.  She was in the Marines, for crying out loud, she wasn't going to take this.

Before she could say anything else, Charles cut in.  “KITT, I have faith in you.  This is only temporary.”

“If you say so,” K.I.T.T said guardedly.

Charles gave Kat a wary glance.  “Perhaps Katherine should meet the rest of the team now,” he suggested.

Kat was out of the car before he had finished speaking, slamming the door behind her.  Several people in the large room winced as the sound echoed off of the high ceiling.

“You will apologize to her later,” Charles whispered.  K.I.T.T was silent.  “It's essential that the two of you get along.”  He turned away from the Camaro and walked over to Kat.  Pierce rose from his desk and joined them.

“Allow me to introduce you to Pierce, our Head Computer Technician.”  Charles gestured to him.  “Pierce, this is Katherine.”

He held out his hand, which Kat shook after a brief hesitation.  He didn't release it right away.  His pale blue eyes sparked with interest as they took in her face.  “The pleasure is mine," he said softly.

The sound of something heavy and metal hitting the concrete floor made them jump.  Kat took the opportunity to retrieve her hand from Pierce's grasp.  Her anger still hadn't cooled completely.  “Oops," Carmen said, unconcerned.  Her arms were crossed over her chest.

Charles turned to her.  “Carmen, our Head Mechanic.”  He introduced the tanned young woman.

She stood where she was, her expression stony.  She pursed her full lips.  “Yo.”  Disapproval was thick in the air around her.

Charles, sensing a situation brewing, took the diplomatic route of escape.  “We should head over to the medic next,” he said.  He placed a hand gently on Kat's shoulder, steering her out of harm's way.

The medic was an elderly black man named Dustin.  He smiled warmly at Kat when they were introduced, and Kat felt herself relax.  He had an air about him of a small town doctor who did house calls on Christmas Eve.

“Dustin will be fitting you with a dental implant.  It will contain a tiny communicator, which will keep you in touch with KITT at all times,” Charles explained.  Kat's eyes widened in alarm.

“Don't worry, Captain,” Dustin assured her in a smooth, deep voice.  “It won't hurt a bit, and when you decide to leave us, I will replace it with a new tooth exactly like your old one.”

Kat smiled at Dustin.  She was really starting to like him.

The procedure wasn't that long, and it was painless.  Her mouth felt a bit funny though, and it took a while for the Novocaine to wear off.  When it did, her jaw twinged uncomfortably.

They tested the implant out as soon as it was in.  They had explained how it worked to her.  The insides of false tooth was made from biologic nano-technology.  Tiny circuits made from amino acids.  It was completely undetectable by bug sweepers, being organic.  She was told that K.I.T.T was coated with with a thick skin of the same bio-nanos.  It allowed him to change color and display text and images on his body.

The implant let her communicate with him by picking up her voice when she spoke aloud.  K.I.T.T could communicate back to her through the implant as well.  The sound waves would carry through her skull, to her ear.

“KITT?” she asked empty air once the procedure was over.  Her voice was slightly slurred by the Novocaine.  She also felt rather silly, with Charles and Dustin watching her so intently.

“I can hear you perfectly.”  She heard the synthetic voice in her ear.

“It works fine," she told Dustin.

“Very good.”  He smiled.

She spent the rest of the day in her and Angela's quarters.  She had yet to meet her roommate.  Everyone in the compound shared quarters.  It was a kind of buddy system.  If someone went missing, their roommate would know right away.  Pierce had been Sam's roommate.  While he was away, Pierce had to share with two others, since there was an odd number of males.

She wondered idly if she would get to see her brother before she left.  She would ask him why he had decided to go through all of this.  She winced as her jaw twinged again.

She was not unoccupied.  Both Pierce and Carmen had handed her two-inch-thick manuals detailing K.I.T.T's various functions, both mechanical and technical.  She had two weeks to read through both of them.

She fell asleep that night using one of the open books as a pillow.

 


	3. Pilot - Part 3

F.L.A.G Underground Facility

She woke abruptly at 4:00AM.  She was surprised that everything was still dark.  It must still be lights-out.  The twinge in her jaw was gone, thankfully.

She stretched out in her tiny bunk, trying to enjoy the luxury of sleeping in for another hour or two.  Her body just wouldn't rest anymore though.  She was up.

She crawled out of bed and down the narrow ladder.  Her desk had a laptop, but she wasn't interested in that right now.  Someone who could only be Angela was snoring lightly in the other bunk.  Kat decided to take her books with her to the kitchen.

The kitchen was deserted as well.  That meant she got the whole huge space to herself.  She kind of liked that.  She read for a bit while she put on a pot of tea.  At around five, and after two cups of tea, her stomach began to rumble.

She set about finding the ingredients for pancakes.  They had the boxed stuff, but Kat didn't bother.  She needed to fill up some time while everyone else woke up.

The refrigerator was a daunting monster.  It was easily twelve feet tall and half that width.  When she pulled open the door, it felt like she was opening a bank vault.

Next, she had to sort through the sheer mass of stuff inside.  At least ten gallons of milk, and six dozen eggs.  They had strawberry yogurt... she would have to remember that for later, if she could find it again.

She was just frying up a plate of silver dollar pancakes when Angela walked into the kitchen, yawning hugely.  “Oh, that smells good.  Whoever you are, please can I have some of that?  Whatever it is.”

She made her way over to a table and slumped into a chair, her arms folded over the tabletop and she laid her head on them.  Her eyes never opened.

“Not quite awake yet?” Kat joked.

“Nope, still in dreamland,” Angela murmured into her arms.  “I don't recognize your voice, so therefore you must be the new Driver I saw passed out when I came in last night.”

“That's me.”

“Welcome aboard, Captain Long.”  She saluted in her general direction weakly, still not lifting her head off the table.

Kat walked over and set a plate next to her, along with a bottle of syrup.  “I can see I'm going to like you," she said with a smile.

Angela lifted her head.  “Ooo, food.”  She picked up a tiny pancake and stuffed it into her mouth, not even bothering with the syrup, or a fork.  Kat placed a coffee mug on the table next to her.  Angela gave her an adoring look.  “I can see we're really going to get along.”

Kat's smile widened into a grin as she went back to the stove to make her own breakfast.  More people were drifting into the kitchen, in varying states of consciousness.  Some asked for pancakes, some fended for themselves.  Carmen strode in, wide awake and talking to two of her mechanics.  She was talking so fast Kat couldn't tell if she was speaking in English or Spanish.  Though it sounded like both.  She grabbed a liter of coffee in a travel mug and walked right out again.

After breakfast, Kat went to the main lab and talked to Pierce for several hours.  He was bent on her absorbing as much information as humanly, or inhumanly, possible.  He also introduced her to another new gadget.

Kat held the small vial up to the light.  “Contact lenses?”

Pierce nodded, taking the vial from her and unscrewing the cap.  “Try them out.  They're far more useful than for mere vision correction.”

She carefully placed the contacts over her eyes.  She blinked a few times, settling them in place.  Pierce continued with his tutorial.  “They are made of the same bio-nanos as your tooth implant, undetectable by bug sensors.  With them, KITT can send you an image of anything he sees.  KITT.”  He called over to the car.

Suddenly a screen flared to life in front of her, showing her and Pierce sitting by his desk.  The camera angle was low to the ground.  Kat turned to the car and the Kat in the image turned as well.  As her eyes moved around, the image stayed right in front of her.

Kat had a hard time suppressing her awe.  “That's pretty cool,” she said to Pierce.

He smiled, enjoying the praise.  “I know.  KITT can also see what you see.”  He handed her book back to her.  “Time to go back to studying.  I have work to do.  There are several programs for KITT that are still in development.”

More reading wasn't appealing right now, so she tried stalling.  “Oh, like what?  I thought the car was finished.”

Pierce pushed his glasses up his nose.  “Hardly.  KITT is an ongoing project.  He is constantly being upgraded as we collect more field data.  His nano-skin, for example, has much more potential than we originally realized.  We are trying to discover ways to exploit it as much as possible.”  He turned a monitor to face Kat.  There was a folder open, and a list of at least a hundred programs.

“Some of them are useless," he explained.  “Or, not really useless, but they have no practical purpose.  In some cases, they are liabilities.”  He indicated one with his mouse.  “This one here.  It allows KITT to detect and interpret physical sensation through his nano-skin.”

“Physical sensation?”  Kat's eyebrows raised.  “Like... pain?”

He thought a moment.  “Yes, I suppose it could be used in that capacity as well.”  He smiled.  “You can see why it's not practical though.  Driving a car that could feel pain when he is capable of plowing through a brick wall.”

Kat nodded.  “Yes, definitely a liability.”  She had a musing expression on her face.  She glanced over at K.I.T.T.  She wondered if she could ever get Pierce to test out that program in her presence.  That over-hyped tin can could use a good swift kick to its rear axle.

Pierce went back to his work and Kat moved to an unoccupied desk to continue her studying.

“You don't like me,” K.I.T.T stated flatly.  It hadn't spoken aloud, only in her own ear.  It had startled her for a second, but then she remembered the dental implant.  Her jaw was still tender, so she wondered how she had forgotten it.

She turned her head to it.  “Why do you say that?”  She kept her voice low, so as not to call attention to the fact that she looked like she was talking to herself.  She had strived to remain as professional as possible, and not let the weirdness of her new situation get to her.  Knowing that it was only temporary had helped.

“You think I am nothing but an over-hyped block of junk metal that would have served a better purpose decorating a scrap yard," the car accused, the red light on the front sped up in its agitation.

Kat's eyes widened.  “Holy crap, you can read minds too?” she whispered incredulously.

“No,” K.I.T.T said dryly, the red light paused.  “You talk in your sleep.”

“Oh.”  She relaxed, then became upset again.  “Why are you listening to me sleep?”

“I have no choice,” K.I.T.T answered at once.  “My primary directive is to preserve human life.  And I am linked to you more completely than any other human.  As my Driver, you are my direct responsibility.  I must ensure that nothing happens to you.”

Kat frowned.  “I can take care of myself, even when I am sleeping," she pointed out tersely.  Was this more of that sexist crap again?

“I am not saying you are incapable, but we are still linked.”  There was a pause.  “And it's not like I have anything else to do with my time.”

Was it just her, or was there an edge to the car's voice?  She decided quickly that it was just her.  She raised her hands up placatingly.  “You know what?  It's fine.  Whatever makes you happy.”  She got up from the desk and walked away, muttering to herself.  “I'm not arguing with a car.”

After Kat had left, K.I.T.T sat in silence.  His red light flowed left to right, faster and faster.  Pierce noticed his agitation from the corner of his eye.  “Something wrong, KITT?”

“This isn't working,” K.I.T.T replied.  “I was supposed to apologize to her for yesterday, but I just ended up fighting.”

“It'll take time,” Pierce told him.  “You'll adjust to her personality eventually.”

“Will it be in time for the mission?” K.I.T.T asked.

He looked at the car over his glasses.  “That I doubt.  Maybe if you had six months, like with Sam.”

“I miss Sam,” K.I.T.T said wistfully.  “He was so easy to understand.”

“That's why he was chosen over Katherine originally,” Pierce confided in him.  “Katherine has the more impressive military career; Marines, test pilot at Cannon, but David made his decision after reviewing the psych profiles.”

K.I.T.T was silent while he digested this new information.

Pierce continued.  “K.I.T.T, you are an impressive machine.  Exceedingly extremely impressive.”

“I don't need an ego boost, Pierce,” K.I.T.T said irritably.

“I'm getting to a point here," he assured him.  “What I'm saying is that, as impressive as you are, Katherine is used to being the impressive one.  She pilots jets for a living.  This looks like a step down to her, and since she's arrived here she has gone through more than your average weirdness and uncomfortable procedures.”

“What are you saying?”

“Maybe you can show her that being your driver isn't a step down.  That it's not all a big sacrifice on her part.”

“Should I take her out to the test road and show her I can hit Mach 1?” K.I.T.T asked hopefully.

Pierce frowned.  “You're still thinking about what Sam would like.  Speed won't impress Katherine.  You'll have to think of something else.”

“Like what?”

He shrugged.  “You're on your own there.”  He went back to his work.

 

********

 

Later that week, Katherine found herself in Angela's lab.  Half of the space was lab, the other was art studio, as Angela painted in her spare time.  Today, they were going to take a plaster mold of Kat's face.  This would then be used to make a replica of her face so that Angela could create disguises for her.

“Here.”  Angela handed her a couple of short straws.  “Put those in your nose so you can breathe.”

Kat looked at the tiny straws, trepidation pooling in her stomach.

“We only have to do this once,” she assured her as she mixed the plaster.  “Unless something goes wrong,” she amended.

Kat suppressed a whimper.  Her military training took over and her face went blank.  Angela smiled at her encouragingly, then started applying the plaster.  “See you in a couple of hours.”

This was easily one of the worst experiences of her life.  She had to sit perfectly still.  Her eyes were shut and her ears were blocked.  She was in absolute darkness and total silence.  And all the while, her instincts screamed at her to fight her way out of the heavy weight that was suffocating her.

A low whimper did escape her chest and into her throat, but she stopped it there.  She wasn't going to show any signs of weakness while she was here.

“Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.”

Kat recognized K.I.T.T's voice in her ear.  Her uneasiness vanished, replaced by confusion.  What was going on?

“Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.”

Kat recognized the opening paragraphs of 'The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy' By Douglas Adams.  Not one of her favorite books; science fiction wasn't really her thing, but it was something to listen to.

She sat silently while K.I.T.T recited into her ear.  She wanted to thank it, but she couldn't open her mouth to do so.  Then she thought better of it.  She was still sore about the other day.

 

********

 

Kat sat in K.I.T.T's driver's seat, poring over the thick computer manual Pierce had given her.  She studied the complicated diagram on the page, then looked at the dash.  She placed a finger gently on the first of a short row of small black buttons, all of them unmarked.  “So, this button here turns you invisible,” she mused, reading.

“I wouldn't touch that,” K.I.T.T suggested.  “That is not the button for my cloaking program.”

Something in the car's tone made her drop her hand.  “Oh.”  She squinted at the page.  Invisibility was the second button in the row.  She pressed that one instead.

Nothing happened.

“Well, are we invisible?” she asked in irritation.  She felt like a fool.  Invisible cars... honestly!

“Would you like me to connect with the live feed cameras outside?” K.I.T.T offered.

Kat stared at the dash.  Were they really invisible, or was it just a joke?  “Sure," she said after a moment.

A display flared to life on the windshield. Three different camera views were depicted. All of them were pointed to the raised circle, which was empty.

Kat stared in disbelief.  “No, it's a trick,” she whispered.  “You're messing with the cameras.”  She stepped out of the car, turning automatically to look at it.

K.I.T.T shut the door, and she had no idea where it was.  She stared in shock.  How did a 5,000 pound vehicle just vanish?  She was standing right next to it!

She squinted, trying to make the damned thing out.  She concentrated hard and could just barely see a flicker or a shimmer of... something.  Light?  Reflecting the wrong way off of something?  But then she blinked and lost it.

She reached her hand out, to feel where it was, but her fingers met empty air.  She heard its synthetic voice chuckle.  “I apologize Katherine," it said, appearing a few feet ahead of her.  “The opportunity was too tempting to resist.”

Now it was making fun of her?  It talked about resisting temptation, like it was somehow alive.  “You're just a car," she accused.

From across the room a sharp voice startled her.  “Oh no she didn't!”

“Carmen, settle down," Pierce warned dully from his desk.  He didn't even bother looking up from his computers.  The glow of the monitors reflected off of his glasses, hiding his eyes.  Kat didn't think that his expression would be comforting.  He was probably as furious as Carmen was, just better at hiding it.

Carmen was making her way rapidly over to her, speaking loudly in Spanish and gesturing at her.  Kat took a step back, not sure what to expect.

K.I.T.T opened his driver's door in Carmen's path, between her and Kat.  That made her pause.  She turned the full intensity of her glare on the car.  “Oh, no!” she cried indignantly.  “Don't you dare protect her!  You heard what she just said!”

“I know,” K.I.T.T said, its voice was flat.  “I knew all along that she didn't like me.  We have no choice but to work together.”

Carmen snarled in her fury.  “You think Mami's not going to defend you when some-”

“Language,” Pierce warned her, still not looking up.

Carmen didn't miss a beat, glaring at Kat again.  “-prissy little _calientapollas_ -”  Then she slipped right back into full Spanish.

Kat's own Spanish was limited, but K.I.T.T seemed to understand because it cut her off.  “Carmen, that kind of language is not allowed on the compound.  Do you want to get written up again?”

“Just a car!” Carmen snarled.  She yelled at Kat over K.I.T.T's open car door.  She could have easily moved around it, but she didn't, respecting that K.I.T.T wanted to stop her.  “What was the last car that you heard of getting a 1565 on his SATs?  What other cars do you know that can beat Charles in chess?”  Her voice got higher with each question.  “Do you know any other car whose favorite song is Smooth Criminal?”

Kat just stood there, stunned.  She blinked at Carmen stupidly.  Carmen made a growling noise, clenching her hands like she wanted to rip something.  With effort she brought herself under control.  Her dark chocolate eyes were burning.  She didn't say another word, and just spat on the ground at Kat's feet.  Then she turned on her heel and marched back to her station.

Pierce let out a low whistle.  “You rendered her speechless.  I am impressed,” he said as he continued to type at his keyboard.

“ _Viete a la mierda_ , Pierce!”

“I love you too, Carmen," he crooned dully.

K.I.T.T backed up a few feet, till he was next to Kat again.  His door was still open.  “Perhaps it would be safer if you came back inside," he suggested.

Kat slid numbly into the driver's seat.  The door shut.  The heavy book slid out of her hands and fell into her lap.

“You're extremely tense, Katherine,” K.I.T.T said worriedly.  “Don't let what Carmen said bother you.  She is very... passionate.”

Kat shook her head.  “No, she's right to treat me like that.  I haven't been making this whole thing easier on anyone.”

“An unwanted situation was thrust upon you without warning.  It's understandable to react the way you have.  You have carried yourself professionally, despite how you feel.  You've given the best we can ask of you.”

“Stop trying to make me feel better," Kat muttered, picking the book up.  She went back to her reading.

K.I.T.T's voice modulator light flickered irritably.  Here again he was reminded that he didn't know what to say to his driver.  He was used to Sam, who needed reassurances for his worries.  He missed Sam.  He didn't understand Katherine at all.

Kat reached out, putting a finger on another button as she read.  Suddenly a siren blared and red light filled the large room briefly.  Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing, and began rushing around on new tasks.  The sudden chaos was in fact ordered and precise.

Kat clutched the book to her chest, startled.  “What did I press?” she asked in panic.

“Nothing,” K.I.T.T answered.  “Something has happened.  Stand by and wait for your briefing.”

“Wait, the mission is starting now?” Kat demanded.  “I thought I had another week!”

K.I.T.T was silent.  A screen flared to life on the windshield, showing Charles' face.  “Yes, it is early.  David is not yet back from Washington, so I will brief you.  The informant contacted Homeland Security, saying that the suspect will be moving tonight at twenty-one hundred hours, pacific standard time.  He will be leaving Los Angeles then and heading to the ocean.  Once he is there he may take a boat, but we cannot be certain.  It could be a diversion tactic.  We can't let him reach his objective.  He will disappear when he does.  Our informant has no further information for us.”

“Twenty-one hundred?” Kat asked hollowly.  “That's six hours away, we'll never make Los Angeles in time.”

She felt the slight vibration of K.I.T.T's silent engine starting up.  “Have faith," K.I.T.T said.  “I may be just a car to you, but I am far from ordinary.”  Kat raised her eyebrows at the hint of smugness in its voice.

“Are you ready for this, Katherine?” Charles asked her seriously.

Kat tossed the computer manual onto the seat next to her.  She gripped the wheel.  “I'm ready to end this ordeal," she answered, her eyes determined.

Charles smiled just a little.  “I can see you will make a good driver."

“'Would', not 'will',” Kat corrected him.  “This is just a one shot deal for me.  I'm just here to help Sam out.”  She felt like she was repeating a mantra.

“Of course," Charles amended.  “Good luck, to the both of you.”  His face disappeared as the raised circle the Camaro sat on lowered into the floor.

A long green lit tunnel stretched out before them.  “There is a small silver button next to the fuel gauge," K.I.T.T told her.  “Please press it.”  Kat pressed the Turbo-Boost button and they sped down the tunnel impossibly fast.

The steering wheel locked suddenly under her hands.  “I will drive for now," K.I.T.T informed her.  “Pierce will continue with your briefing.”

Pierce's face appeared where Charles' had been.  “The suspect is Timothy Haver.  An alias of course.  One of the many in Homeland Security's record.”  The suspect's face appeared in the corner of Pierce's screen.  K.I.T.T took it and zoomed in on it.  Kat studied it intently.  Pierce went on.  It was still a few hours before they would reach Los Angeles, even with the 450 mph K.I.T.T was pushing, so they were able to go over the finer points of Haver's crime, plutonium smuggling, and discuss possible strategies.

Apparently, Mr. Haver was up to his usual business and had stolen plutonium from a U.S. plant and was attempting to smuggle it out of the country.  Homeland Security had assured them that only a small portion of plutonium had been stolen, and that there was no chance of fallout in the middle of Los Angeles.  She and K.I.T.T were tasked with recovering the stolen plutonium, then with capturing Timothy Haver.  It was in that order, the plutonium's recovery was the top priority.

Kat could see why.  You only needed a small amount of radioactive material to make a bomb.  Even without the threat of fallout, a few buildings missing was still a big deal.

About an hour away Pierce finished his briefing, reminding her that an extra set of contacts was in the glove compartment.

Carmen's face appeared on the screen as she pushed Pierce out of the way.  “ _Ten cuidado_ , KITT,” she said a little huskily.  Then her expression turned stony.  “You too, Katherine.  I guess.”  Then they were both gone, and it was just Kat inside the car.

“What did she say?” Kat asked.

“Be careful,” K.I.T.T answered.

The seriousness of their situation hung over her like a blanket.  Kat decided to try and lift it, just a little.  “So, you're favorite song is 'Smooth Criminal'?”  She had her hands on the wheel, but she wasn't the one steering.  Her reflexes weren't quick enough to handle the highway at the speed they were going.

“It is this week," K.I.T.T answered.

“This week?”

“It changes, Charles says that is a good thing.  He was the one who advised me to listen to music.  He said it would help my learning, hearing so many different perspectives at one time.  He is also testing the limits of my AI by having me show preference.”

“So... what does that mean?  If you can show preference?"

“It means I can think closer to the way a human does, rather than, say, your toaster,” K.I.T.T answered flatly.

“Right,” Kat said, feeling more tense than before.

There was a long pause.  “I want to apologize,” K.I.T.T said.  “For how I acted when we first met.”

But Kat wasn't ready to hear any apologies.  “Forget it," she said.  “Let's just listen to some music.”

 

********

 

Back at the compound, Pierce was listening to K.I.T.T through a small earpiece.  “I think K.I.T.T has been more restless to be on his first mission than we realized,” he said to Charles.  Carmen was not there.  She had headed out in the Mobile Assistance Unit, following Kat and K.I.T.T.

Charles gave him a questioning look.  “Why do you say that?”

Pierce pressed a finger to his earpiece, frowning.  “For the last twenty minutes, he's been playing 'Born To Be Wild' over the radio.”

Charles smiled.

 


	4. Pilot - Part 4

Los Angeles

They pulled smoothly into a space on a dark street.  Kat cut the engine.  She opened the glove box and took out the spare contact lenses.  She also found a spool of what looked like thick plastic cables ties.  She decided that they might be useful and attached the spool to her belt.

“The building the suspect is hiding in is located just ahead," K.I.T.T informed her, displaying an overhead map.  “Approximately fifty-five yards North-northwest of here.”  A green line went around the building down the street forming a square patch that zoomed in on the building.

“Run X-Ray and FLIR,” Kat said.  She was cool and collected.  Now that she was on a mission, there was no indecision.  There was just to do.  This was what she was used to.

“Running X-Ray and Forward Looking Infrared filters," K.I.T.T announced.  The zoomed-in panel turned digital, a bright green cross-section of the interior of the building.  Then the infrared filter came down and bright red and yellow humanoid forms appeared on the screen.

Kat inspected the small group gathered on the third floor.  The other floors were empty.  There were three forms, two together, sitting close to the floor.  The third was away from the other two, over by the window.

“Dammit,” Kat muttered to herself.  She hurriedly opened her door and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

“What are you doing?” K.I.T.T asked curiously.

“Our suspect's not stupid.  He has someone keeping an eye on the street.”  She headed up the street and turned the corner.

“You'll be perfectly safe with me,” K.I.T.T reassured her.  It spoke into her ear now, instead of through the modulator.

“That's not why I left,” Kat told it.  “It looks too odd for a dark car to stop on a deserted street and no one gets out.  Especially if you're paranoid or careful enough to have someone watching the street.”

“That is a good point,” K.I.T.T assented.  “What shall I do, then?”

“Just keep an eye on the place, and relay the pictures to my eye-cam if it looks like someone's leaving.”  Kat scowled.  “We can't do anything until we get a proper I.D on the guy.  How are we supposed to know if he's still even there?”

“There is evidence that points to the suspect still being in the building.  I will show you.”  A screen came on in her eye-cam.  It depicted the same picture as on K.I.T.T's windshield.  A new filter came down over the screen.  A bright purple light pulsed on the first floor.

Kat's stomach felt hollow.  “Is that what I think it is?”

“The plutonium is giving off traces amounts of radiation through the container they are using to carry it,” K.I.T.T answered.  “The seal is not tight, so there is a tiny leak that I can pick up.  There is no danger unless exposed for a lengthy period of time.”

Kat measured the size of the purple light compared to the bright red forms of the people.  “That is a bit more plutonium than I was led to believe would be here.”

“I've sent the readouts back to Headquarters.  Charles wishes to speak with you.”

Charles face appeared next to the display of the building.  “This situation is much more dangerous than we anticipated.  Katherine, if you want to pull out, we'll understand.  We don't want to put you or K.I.T.T in a situation that you can't handle.”

Kat wasn't going to back out now, and put her brother's job in danger.  “No, it's fine, nothing much has changed.  We can handle this," she assured him.

He hesitated.  “If you're sure.”

“I am.”  Her voice was determined.

“Carmen has been heading after you in the semi since you left.  She should be in your area within a few hours.  Over and out,” Charles said, and disappeared.

“Thank you, Katherine,” K.I.T.T said.  “You're helping us far more than we deserve, all things considered.”

“Trust me, I am finishing this mission.  Because once it is over, I am personally going to yank this implant out of my jaw and walk away,” Kat said bitterly.

“You are willing to give everything up?” K.I.T.T asked.  “I was told that my predecessor's driver enjoyed working with him.”

“I've done my homework.  The Two Thousand was practically tailor made for Michael Knight.  Me, I'm just getting my big brother's hand-me-downs.”  She narrowed her dark eyes.  “This is not something I would choose for myself.  I don't want to give up my old life.  I will not be Katherine Knight.”

“With Sam dead, we'll just have to deal with each other until a new driver is trained,” K.I.T.T's voice was brisk.  “I'm looking forward to that as much as you are, I am sure.”

Kat froze where she stood.  “What did you just say?” she asked in a tight whisper.

“You can't be upset about that.  Someone will have to drive me if you won't.”  There was definitely an edge to K.I.T.T's computerized voice.  It was slight, but Kat wasn't paying attention.

“Sam's coming back,” she whispered.  Her eyes were wide and staring.  “This is his job. I'm just helping him out while he's away.”

There was a pause from the car.  “Katherine, you brother died a week ago, while training in Base2.”

“Stop saying he's dead!” she shrieked, closing her eyes tightly.  “He's not dead!”

“Katherine-”  But K.I.T.T was cut off as Kat clapped her hands over her head.  She hunched over, buried by sudden grief.

“Get out of my head,” she gasped.  “Leave me alone!”

K.I.T.T was silent for too short a time.  “Katherine, we are still on a mission.  The suspect is still inside of the building, but he could exit at any moment.  We must make the I.D and detain him.”

Kat leaned against the alley wall.  She gasped in effort.  “The mission...”  The mission was important.  She had to finish the mission.  She couldn't go to pieces right now, but it was like trying to hold back the tide with her hands.  It went over and around her pitiful resistance.  “Sam...”  Her voice broke as tears sprang to her eyes.  She shook her head violently.  “Just... just give me a minute," she pleaded brokenly.

There was a tense pause.  “You don't have a minute.  One of the occupants is heading out now.”

“Show me," she whispered, her body tensing.  She didn't dare move from where she was.  She had no idea where the suspect would be heading, and for what reason.

K.I.T.T transmitted the x-ray and infrared scans to her contact lenses.  She saw, superimposed on the alley wall, that one of the large red and yellow masses had separated from the group and was heading downstairs.

Then the scene changed abruptly.  K.I.T.T dropped the filters as the front door opened and a man stepped out.  He switched to his high speed camera, zooming in on the man's face.  The picture froze, then separated from the moving image, off to the side as K.I.T.T analyzed the features.

It took less than a second.  “It's him,” K.I.T.T announced.

Kat drew in a shaky breath.  At this point she had nearly put herself back together.  A mask of calm settled over her features, and if her hands shook slightly, she didn't pay attention to them.  “Are you sure?” she asked, her voice sounding normal.

“There is a .002 percent margin of error.”

She nodded.  “I'll take the risk.”

“He's walking south.  If you step out of the alley you're in now and turn the next corner, your paths will intersect.”

Kat exited the alley, doing as K.I.T.T said.  She turned the corner and spotted their target.  He was walking towards her.  He spotted her, and stopped.  He gave her a wary look, then glanced around.  When he turned back to her, his gaze was interested.  He made his way purposefully toward her.

Kat decided to try the direct approach.  “Timothy Haver?” she called to him when he was just a few feet away.

That made him pause, wary again.  K.I.T.T spoke into Kat's ear.  “I detect a slight limp in his walk.  I am guessing he's had a previous injury to his left knee.”  A red mark glowed over the suspects kneecap.  “Right there.”

Kat stepped forward.  Timothy took the better part of valor and retreated, but Kat was too quick for him.  A quick kick to the knee and he crumpled to the ground.  Kat then delivered a sharp blow to the back of his neck, rendering him unconscious.  It had been so quick, that he hadn't had the chance to cry out.

Kat pulled a zip tie off the spool at her hip and secured it around the suspect's wrists.  She left him there, Carmen could pick him up when she got there.  The plutonium was the main priority.

“The plutonium is on the move,” K.I.T.T said in her ear.  "Haver could have been a decoy."

She swore under her breath.  Of course.  They send out the recognizable bait, then make their move.

“They have separated it into two unmarked cars.  They're preparing to escape,” K.I.T.T continued.

Kat could see why Homeland Security had not wanted to handle this mission themselves.  When it failed, they didn't want to be the ones to take the blame.  “Tag the cars.”

A tiny hole by K.I.T.T's left headlight opened up.  He shot two tracers at the getaway cars as they passed.  He opened up a new display on his windshield, an overhead map.  The two cars were marked by flashing red lights on the map.  They drove next to each other.  They were rapidly getting farther away.

“OK, come and get me,” Kat told it, making her way quickly back to the corner.

Within seconds K.I.T.T pulled up in front of her, the passenger's side door open.  Kat dove inside.  Tires squealing, K.I.T.T tore off after the cars.

Kat slid across the seat and settled behind the wheel.  K.I.T.T turned the steering over to her while he closed the door.

“Okay, options,” Kat said as she sped after the two cars.

“We can't take out the vehicles,” K.I.T.T said automatically.  “If we jostle them too hard, we might break open the container holding the plutonium.  We could follow them to their destination and recover the plutonium there.”

Just then, the two red dots on the screen separated, moving in opposite directions.  Kat scowled.  “OK, now what?”

“Remember that little button I told you not to press earlier?” K.I.T.T asked.

“Yeah...” Kat said slowly.

“Press it.”

Kat found the black button that was the first of its row.  She took a breath, then pressed it.

While still driving, K.I.T.T began to change.  He settled lower to the ground, his wheels slid further apart.  His chassis became smaller.  The back seat folded in on itself.  The front seat was now a bit more cramped than it was before.  “Pursuit mode,” she said as she realized what was going on.

K.I.T.T had one mode that he could switch to without having to get refitted by Carmen, and that was Pursuit Mode.  He made himself smaller and lower to the ground, so as to minimize drag and maximize speed.

It was Saturday night, so traffic was mild approaching heavy, but K.I.T.T swerved through the other cars as easily as if they were going in slow motion.  They soon caught up to one of the cars.  “Where is your EM Pulse?” Kat asked.

A button on the dash flashed red once.  Kat waited until they were right behind the escaping car, then pressed it.  The fleeing car stopped immediately, the engine dying.  K.I.T.T swerved around it.

“Get the other car,” Kat ordered.  She opened her door and flew out before K.I.T.T had stopped.  She was just in time to tackle the man escaping from his car.

Soon, she had him pressed face first into the pavement.  She tied a thick cable-tie around his wrists.

K.I.T.T. was already gone, after the other car.  He shot through the streets, leaving Kat behind, though not completely without his help.  “The plutonium is in the trunk," he told her.  “I scanned the car before I left.”

Kat grabbed the keys from the ignition, then ran around to the back.  She unlocked the trunk and popped it open.  Inside was a large metal case.  She hefted it out of the trunk.  It was easily fifty pounds, but she had carried heavier.  It was made completely of lead and secured tightly.

Kat knew the actual amount of plutonium was small, maybe no more than a handful, but only a few grains were required to make an explosive.  Most of the case's bulk came from the lead shielding it.

She remembered what K.I.T.T had said to her, about the case having a leak.  He had said it wasn't a dangerous one, but the very thought of it sent prickles up the arm holding the case.  She wanted to get rid of this thing as soon as possible.

She looked around furtively.  No one was walking the sidewalk, but there were plenty of cars passing by.  A few seemed pretty upset about the stopped car in the middle of the street.

Kat dragged the unconscious man back up into his car and shut the door.  He could stay like that for a while.  Then she hefted the case up again and sprinted after K.I.T.T.

No one stopped her, thank God for large cities.

 

********

 

K.I.T.T was still sending the display of the fleeing car to Kat's eye cam.  He also highlighted his own position as a green dot.  The green dot quickly caught up to the remaining red dot.

He sped past the car, turning into its path as soon as he was ahead of it.  The car swerved out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk.  K.I.T.T then maneuvered behind the car, blocking it from escaping.  The occupant didn't dare risk ramming K.I.T.T out of the way, not that it would have done him much good if he tried.

The driver opened his door and made a break for it.  K.I.T.T fired a tranquilizer dart at the man and he dropped to the ground.

“Where are you?” K.I.T.T asked Kat.  He could hear a steady panting coming from the implant.

“About... ten blocks away,” Kat wheezed.

“Would you like me to come and get you?” he asked her.

“No, stay there,” she answered.  “I'll be there soon.  Don't let him get away.”

“The driver tried to escape,” K.I.T.T informed her.

“Tried?”

"I stopped him."

"Please tell me it wasn't by running him over."

“I have tranquilizer darts at my disposal.  I've also contacted Charles.  Carmen won't be here for another couple of hours.  The plutonium is safe."

"Of course it is.  I have it with me."  The lead case was getting heavier by the second.

"I'm detecting the plutonium leak coming from the trunk of this car."

"Just great.  They had two cases..."

A few minutes later, she caught up to him.  K.I.T.T was back to normal now.  She stowed her case in the back seat and went to fetch the other one.

“Dammit!” she swore when she checked the ignition.  "Where are the keys?"  She checked the fallen man, but didn't see them.

"They might have fallen from the suspect's hand and down that storm drain,"  K.I.T.T suggested.

Kat ran around to the trunk, looking it over.  She was weighing the merits of forcing it open when K.I.T.T called from behind her.  “Move aside.”

She stepped to the side.  K.I.T.T activated his laser, which was hidden over the right headlight.  He aimed it precisely on the trunk's lock, destroying the insides.  The trunk popped open and Kat retrieved the second case.  She stowed that in K.I.T.T's backseat as well.

“Let's go pick up our perpetrators."  She lifted the unconscious man up and stowed him in the backseat with the two cases.

They drove back to the other car and picked up the still unconscious man from inside.  Timothy Haver was just coming around when they got back to him.  “What the hell is going on here?” he demanded as she hefted him to his feet and forced him into K.I.T.T's passenger seat.

She knew that she should say something witty right about now, but she was exhausted.  She got into the driver's seat again and they headed out to meet Carmen in the semi.

Timothy Haver looked around the car's interior.  “You're not with the police," he said suspiciously.

“I'm with Homeland Security,” Kat lied.  Technically it was kind of almost true.  Nearly.

“Since when does Homeland Security have Camaros?”

“Have you ever worked for Homeland Security?” Kat asked through clenched teeth.

“No.”

“Then shut the hell up.”

She was immensely relieved when they met Carmen.  She had turned around, heading back to the compound when Charles told her that they were catching up.  She didn't bother stopping when they reached her, K.I.T.T just drove up the back.

Carmen was there, glaring at a few men in black suits.  K.I.T.T opened the passenger's door and they pulled the two men and the plutonium cases out.  Kat stayed inside the car for the rest of the trip.  The mission was over, but she was still tensed from the ordeal.  She wouldn't really feel anything until later.

 


	5. Pilot - Part 5

F.L.A.G Underground Facility

It was the middle of the night.  K.I.T.T sat alone on his circle.  People still worked on the compound, but it was in there own quarters.  Even Carmen and Pierce had retired.  K.I.T.T's area was deserted.

Which was why K.I.T.T was surprised when Katherine ran silently up to him.  She opened his door and slid quickly into the seat.  She shut the door behind her softly.  Her hands were shaking, and her breathing was quick and loud.

“Are you alright?” K.I.T.T asked her in alarm, using only his internal speakers to talk so as not to disturb the quiet outside.

She laid down across both of the front seats, her whole body trembling.  When she spoke, her voice was strained.  “I just need to be away from people right now," she said.  She curled up into the fetal position and shivered uncontrollably.  She began to whimper and sob quietly.

K.I.T.T just couldn't understand.  What was wrong with her?  She hadn't acted this way on the mission.  She had been able to push away her pain.  She hadn't fallen apart like she was now.

What was he supposed to do?  What could he do?

He increased the opacity on all of the windows, even the windshield, until it was completely dark inside of the cab.

Just then, lights flared on all around the main room.  Carmen walked in, flanked by two of her workers.  They were looking all over the large space, even under the desks.  It only took him a fifth of a second to realize that they were looking for Kat.

Charles stepped out of his office and looked down over the rail.  “Have you found her yet?” he asked the group below.

Carmen shook her head.  “She might have left the Compound.”  She shrugged, not really caring.  “You know she didn't want to stay here.”

Charles shook his head.  “Security would have seen her.  No one gets by them.”

“I dunno then.  What do you want from me?  Go look at the cameras.”

Charles looked over at K.I.T.T.  “Have you seen Katherine, KITT?  Angela reported her missing from her quarters after lights out.”

K.I.T.T's pause was too short for a human brain to register.  “No, I haven't," he answered.

Charles nodded.  “Let us know if you see her, she might be in danger.”

“She's not in danger,” K.I.T.T said.  “Nor has she left the Compound.  She's been through a great deal in a short time.  She just needs time to herself.”

Charles stared at K.I.T.T for a long moment, noting the black windshield.  He pulled his cellphone from his pocket, pressing a button as he brought it to his ear.  “Call off the search,” he said and hung up.  He looked down at Carmen.  “That means you too.”

“Thank god!” Carmen threw her hands in the air.  “Estoy cansado!  Let's got to bed!”  She muttered under her breath as she and her two workers left.  “Don't see why you just didn't look on the cameras...”

“Have a good night, KITT.”  Charles turned and walked back into his office.  The lights in the main room went out.

K.I.T.T was uneasy.  He had just lied to Charles.  That was a first.  He knew his programming was changing, adjusting as he learned more, and also due to his driver's personality.  He didn't feel comfortable lying though.  He would try not to do that again unless he had to.

And then there was Kat, who was sobbing all over his leather seats.  Even if he couldn't feel it, he could recognize that she was in pain.

She had come to him because she had wanted to be away from people.  She didn't see him as a person, just as a car.  Well, was there something that he could give her that a person couldn't?

It didn't register to Kat when K.I.T.T's screen flared to life.  She was too wrapped up inside of her pain, her eyes tightly closed, her arms around her legs, desperately trying to hold herself together.  She didn't even look up till she heard his voice.

Not K.I.T.T's.  Sam's.

“So, your name is KITT, huh?  My baby sister's called Kat, but just by me. KITT, Kat, KitKat, that's funny.”  He chuckled.

She opened her eyes slowly.  The bright screen was blurred by her tears.  She rubbed the back of her hand over her eyes.  Sam's smiling face was on the screen.  He was always smiling.  He was driving.  Kat recognized K.I.T.T's steering wheel under his hands.  The scenery outside of the window was just a blur.  Sam didn't seem to mind how fast he was going.  Then again, knowing him, he probably enjoyed it.

“She's a jet pilot.  I guess that means she likes speed even more than I do,” he joked.  “I'm a little jealous of her though.  Can you believe it?  A pilot!  At her age!”

She had forgotten just how laid back he always was.  A situation that she had found so strange he had taken in stride.  Talking cars?  Sure, fine.  What else you got?

“Man, I wish she could see me now.  I bet she would be soo jealous.”  His grin was blinding.  Kat felt the corner of her mouth lift slightly.  “I think she would like you.  You two are a lot alike.  You both worry about me too much.”  He laughed again.  Kat grimaced.

She didn't hear any of K.I.T.T's recorded responses.  She was entirely focused on her brother's face.  She sat up and slid out from under the steering wheel.  She leaned her arms on the dash and rested her chin on them.  It wasn't comfortable, but she didn't care.  She didn't even notice when K.I.T.T adjusted the passenger's seat so she wasn't stretched out across the cab.  She focused only on the sound of her dead brother's voice, and the smile on his face.

 

********

 

She woke hours later.  She guessed it was morning.  There was no sunlight in the underground compound, so she couldn't be sure.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.  Her mouth tasted awful.  How long had she been in here?  Her back and shoulders ached.  “Ohhh, sleeping in a car is not good on your back," she muttered.  “Didn't I learn anything from High School?”  She began to rub the kinks out of her neck.

“I was going to ask how you slept,” K.I.T.T said.  “But it seemed that you slept pretty deeply, considering how much you were drooling on my seats.”

She wiped the back of her hand on her cheek.  It was dry.  She narrowed her eyes at the stereo.  “I didn't drool.”

K.I.T.T was silent.  It was waiting.  She knew that.

Kat leaned back in the seat, wincing as the muscles in the small of her back stretched.  She looked at herself in the mirror.  “God, I'm a mess.”  Her eyes were red-rimmed, the skin under them was puffy.  Her hair was beyond help.

She took another moment, delaying what was coming while she organized her thoughts.  “My brother liked you a lot," she said finally.

“You could say we were friends,” K.I.T.T answered.  “He was easy to get along with.  Everyone liked him.”

Kat nodded.  She put her hand on the steering wheel hesitantly, tracing the pattern in the leather tooling with her fingertips.  “I'm not like my brother," she said.  “There is no one else in the world who could be as unbearably happy as he was.”

“He was a good man."

Kat felt her eyes tear.  She bit her bottom lip. “Yeah," she whispered.  Then she regained control of herself.  “I hope that I can be half as useful to you as he was," she said, keeping her eyes on the steering wheel.

“You're staying?”

The disbelieving tone to it's voice made her flinch.  “I'll understand if you don't want me to," she said.  “I've been pretty unbearable to you.  I promise I'll try harder though.”

K.I.T.T hesitated.  “No one ever said they didn't want you here," he hedged.  “I wouldn't be against it if you stayed with us.”

Kat nodded.  “Driving around in a souped-up car, fighting baddies has never really appealed to me.”  She swallowed.  “But, I do want to find out what happened to my brother.  I can do that if I stay here.”

“I thought it might be something like that.”

“I'll still focus on the missions," she assured him.  “I'll give everything I have.  I'll be the best driver I can for you.”  A faint smile appeared in her eyes.  “And, in our off time, maybe you can show me some more videos.”

“I can do that,” K.I.T.T said at once.  “Welcome aboard, Katherine.”

Kat's smile touched her mouth as well.  “Call me Kat.”

“Everyone calls me KITT.”

“Nice to meet you, KITT.”

“The pleasure is mine.”

 

********

 

Kat stepped out of the car a few minutes later.  Her face was a mask of calm.  She walked determinedly up the metal staircase to Charles' office.  She knocked on the glass door lightly.

Charles looked up from his work, and gestured for her to enter.  “How are you feeling?" he asked as soon as she walked in.

“Better,” she answered cautiously.  “And worse.  Is David back from Washington yet?  I would like to speak with him.”

Charles nodded.  “He came back this morning.  He should be in his office, just a bit past mine.”  He pointed.  Then he looked at her sharply, hope in his eyes.  “Does this mean that you will stay on with us?"

Kat nodded solemnly.  “Yeah.”

“Wonderful!”  Charles rose from his chair.  He walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.  His happy expression faded.  There was a deep sadness and sympathy there.  “Now that you are part of the team, I must tell you-”

“I know already,” Kat said, giving him a steady look.

Charles face was surprised, but still sympathetic.  “I'm so sorry,” he told her.  “For your loss, and for hiding it from you.”

There was a hard glint in her eyes.  “I don't hold it against you.  You and the others had your orders.  Highly confidential circumstances.”  She turned away.  “Now, if you'll excuse me.  I have to go see David.  There is a contract I have to sign.”

Charles nodded absently.  The work on his desk was already calling him back to it.  “Of course.  Go on then.  I'll see you later.”  He smiled, happy at the prospect.

Kat walked down to David's office.  His door was not clear like Charles' was.  And there were blinds covering the large window.  Kat took a deep breath and knocked.

“Enter,” was David's reply.

She stepped inside of the office.  David sat behind a massive wooden desk.  He smiled when he saw her.  “Ah, Miss Long.  I am pleasantly surprised to find you still here.”

“I want the contract,” Kat told him simply.

His smile turned smug.  “I thought that might be the case.”  He opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a thick sheaf of paper.  He slapped it onto the desktop.  “Here you go.”  He slid the papers and his silver pen across the desk to her.

Kat didn't bother sitting in the chair in front of the desk.  She leaned over while she signed all of the documents.  When she was finally done, she placed the pen on top and slid the papers back.  She rubbed her wrist, she could feel a cramp starting.  “Is that it?”

“That's all of them,” David answered.  He shuffled the papers together neatly and replaced them back into his desk.

“You can't get rid of me now?” Kat asked.

David laughed.  “No.  You're going to be with us for quite some time.”

“Good, because I have something to say to you.”

He looked up at her in interest.  “Is that so?"

She nodded.  “I know about Sam.  I know that he's dead.”  She was so glad that she had been able to say that firmly.  She hadn't been sure she could do this.  Now that she was here, she found strength inside of her.

There was a guarded look in his eyes.  “Who told you?  Everyone had direct orders not to speak of any classified information.”  He gestured to his desk drawer.  “It's all in their contracts.”

Kat gave him a cool look.  “Don't underestimate me.  I found out on my own.  The information was there.”

David steepled his fingers.  “I suppose it was, yes, but you still signed the contract.”

“I started this whole thing because I thought I was helping Sam out.  Something you led me to believe.  You knew he was dead, yet you deceived me just so you could finish your mission and save your own ass.”  Kat's voice was rising as she let the anger inside of her out slowly.

“And yet, knowing this, you still chose to stay on,” David reminded, his dark eyes glittered.

“I'm still not staying for you,” she told him acidly.  “I'm staying for me.”  She leaned over his desk.  “I just have one more thing to say to you.”

He raised his eyebrows.  “And what's that?” he asked in amusement.

“This.”  Kat swung out her fist quickly, catching David right in his left cheekbone.  The blow was strong enough to knock him from his chair.

Down in the Main Lab, a loud crash was heard overhead.  Charles exited his office quickly, looking down towards David's office.  “What on earth...?”

Carmen looked up at him from her workstation.  “I think Kat's telling David that she knows about Sam.”

That made Charles pause.  He frowned.  “Oh.  Should I call Security?” he pondered.

Carmen stood up.  “Don't worry, I'll take care of it,” she assured him.

“Oh, thank you Carmen.”  Charles returned to his office.

When he was out of sight, Carmen sat back down.  She pulled a metal file from the back of her coveralls and began cleaning under her nails.

Another crashing sound came from above them.  Pierce looked over at Carmen.  “Aren't you going to stop her?”

Carmen looked up at him from her nails.  “I'll get to it," she said heatedly.  “Can't you see how extremely busy I am right now?”

One of Pierce's eyebrows twitched.  “Pardon me," he said, returning to his work.

A few seconds later, David's office door opened and Kat headed down the stairs.  She shook out her right arm.  “Much better," she said under her breath.  Pierce's eyes followed her as she walked over to K.I.T.T.

“Did you get the contracts signed?” K.I.T.T asked her worriedly.

“Yep," she answered, leaning back against his hood.  “All done.”

“Good.”  He sounded relieved.

Carmen walked over to them.  Kat gave her a wary look.  “I see you two are finally getting along,” she said stiffly.

Kat smiled weakly.  “Mostly.”

Carmen nodded up to the walkway.  “I heard you went to go see David.”

“Yeah, we exchanged some words,” Kat said, her smile turned rueful.

Carmen looked down at the floor.  “Yeah, listen Katherine, about Sam...”

“It's alright,” Kat told her.  “I don't blame anyone else.”

“He was a good man,” Carmen said, still looking at the floor.

Kat's smile was tight.  “I know that better than anyone.”

Carmen reached up suddenly, pulling Kat down in a tight hug.  Kat's eyes widened in surprise.  Carmen released her just as suddenly.  “I gotta get back to work," she mumbled.  As she walked away, she wiped at her eyes.

Kat regained her balance, steadying herself on K.I.T.T's hood.  “That was... unexpected.”

“You'll soon realize that Carmen always does the unexpected,” K.I.T.T told her in amusement.

Kat laughed.  It was a shaky one, but real.  “I guess I will."

 


	6. Second Knight - Part 1

**Episode 2 - Second Knight**

**Chapter 1**

F.L.A.G Underground Compound

Carmen walked into the main lab.  She knew immediately that something was wrong.  “Where's KITT?” she demanded.  “Don't tell me he got called on a mission!  I was in the bathroom for five minutes!”

Pierce looked over at her.  “Charles took Katherine aside earlier.  I think he sent them out.”

Carmen's face was disapproving.  “What did he send them out for?"

Charles leaned over the metal railway of the upper walkway.  “I sent those two on a very special mission.”

“A special mission?” her eyebrows pushed together.

Charles nodded sagely.  “Oh yes.  We've just been through our first mission together, and Katherine has agreed to join us permanently.  I think that calls for a celebration of sorts, don't you think?”

Carmen played with her black ponytail in agitation.  “I guess so, but what could you have sent them out for?”

Charles smiled down at her.

 

********

 

Phoenix, Arizona

“...and one double pepperoni.”  Kat finished reciting from the lengthy list in her hand.

The man behind the counter grinned at her.  “That's a lot of pies," he said.  “Going to eat all these yourself?”

Kat smiled back at him from behind her black sunglasses.  “Of course not, I'm going to a party.”  She placed two fifties on the counter while her pizzas were stacked up.

She carried them out to K.I.T.T.  The hot sun beat down on her bare neck.  Her ponytail and tank top were damp with sweat.  It must have hit ninety-nine degrees out while she was inside.  Christmas was only two short weeks away.  Nothing like winter in Arizona.  “Get the door for me, please,” she whispered.  “My hands are full.”

K.I.T.T opened the passenger door for her, then folded down the seat.  She carefully placed the stack of pizza boxes in the back seat and secured them with the seat belt.  The seat belts in K.I.T.T were slightly different than in a normal car.  There were two per passenger that met at the middle of the chest and at the navel.  Kat wasn't sure why that was, she would have to ask Carmen, but it did make it easier to secure a stack of pizza boxes.

K.I.T.T replaced the passenger's seat and Kat crawled into the driver's seat.  The cool leather against her overheated skin sent a shiver through her.  She took a second to rest the back of her neck on the headrest.

K.I.T.T closed the door as she took the wheel.  “Okay," she said as she steered out of the parking lot.  “Think we can get back to the compound before the pies cool?” she challenged.  “I would hate to have to microwave these babies, that would be sacrilege.”

“I'm certain we can make it back in time,” K.I.T.T said, a little smugly.

Once they were out on the highway, Kat pushed the Turbo Boost button.  She couldn't help but smile as the scenery outside blurred beyond recognition.  But then she felt a little guilty.  “Should we really be having fun like this?”

“We're having fun now?” K.I.T.T asked.  He wasn't being sarcastic, only curious.

Kat had noticed something about his voice.  It was always the same volume, even when he spoke in her ear.  When people talked, their voices rose and fell in volume depending on what they were saying and what feelings they were expressing.  K.I.T.T's A.I was designed to show emotion in it's voice, to make the Driver more comfortable.  Since his voice never changed pitch or volume, she still found it odd, and a little empty.  The emotions displayed were dull.  She would have to mention it to Pierce.

“Something like this, it's not a mission,” Kat explained.  “Should we really be messing around?”

“We don't have a mission right now,” K.I.T.T reminded.

“Still... using Turbo Boost so frivolously?  I would hate to see the gas bill,” Kat said.  She thought for a moment.  “What do you run on, anyway?  Rocket fuel?”

K.I.T.T's voice changed to a flat monotone.  “That is classified information.  Further inquiry on that subject will result in disciplinary action.”

Kat blinked at the voice modulator.  “What was that?” she asked, her eyebrows shooting up in alarm.

K.I.T.T's voice returned to normal.  “My apologies, Kat.  What did I say?”

She frowned.  “You don't know what you said?”

“Negative.  David had Pierce place blocks into my programming.  Pierce tried to fight the decision, but David believes that I am a security risk.”

Kat nodded, understanding.  “That's probably my fault.  I bet David realized that you were the one that told me about Sam.  He wasn't happy that I'd found out.”  Her frown deepened at the memory.  “I'm sorry, KITT.”

“I can handle the restrictions,” K.I.T.T assured her.  “Did I say anything rude to you?”

Kat shook her head.  “No, it was fine.”  She wondered what other unpleasantness David had in store for her.  If she didn't have K.I.T.T's help, she wouldn't be able to find out what had happened to Sam.

Charles had told her that it was an accident, but even he didn't know the details.  Only David did.  Kat was sure that if it had really been an accidental death, David wouldn't be so tight-lipped about it.

If K.I.T.T couldn't help her, she would have to go to Pierce, her brother's old room mate.  She was sure that David had already told him not to help her, but she wondered if she could convince him to anyway.  Would he risk getting in trouble with David for her?  She didn't know him well at all.  This was going to be difficult.

 

********

 

They made it back to the compound in under thirty minutes.  To say everyone was overjoyed was an understatement.  The yells of happiness and excitement was nearly deafening.  Kat realized that a lot of people here had probably been underground for quite some time, and pizzerias didn't usually deliver to secret underground facilities.

Kat was relieved of the boxes and everyone headed up to the kitchen, which had enough room for everyone to move around in, and there was the added bonus of housing cold drinks.

She spotted Pierce still working at his desk.  She walked over to him.  “Do that later.”  She smiled.  “Pizza.”

Pierce didn't look up at her.  He continued to type quickly at his keyboard.  “Just a second...” he said slowly,

Kat frowned at him.  “I could just pick you up, toss you over my shoulder, and carry you upstairs," she offered.

Pierce snorted, and looked up.  He opened his mouth to retort.  Kat raised an eyebrow.  He eyed the tight, toned muscles of her exposed arms and shut his mouth.  He stood up.  “Let's go eat pizza,” he said, following the others.

“There's a good boy.”  Kat smiled at his back.  She looked over at K.I.T.T, who sat alone on his circle.

“You should get going," he told her.  “Before there's nothing left.”

Kat's thin, dark brows pushed together.  “One second.”  She rummaged around on Pierce's desk.

“What are you doing?” K.I.T.T asked.

Kat found the small, covered vial she was looking for.  “Taking you with me,” she answered, uncapping the vial.  She took a minute to put on the special contact lenses.  She blinked a few times, then looked around the main lab.  “How is it?”

“Perfect,” K.I.T.T answered.  “Thank you, Kat.”

Kat ignored his thanks.  “You still won't be able to hear anything, but I'll tell you if anyone says something interesting.”

“You don't have to do that.”

She shrugged.  “It's your party, you should be able to attend.  This is the best I can do though.”

“It's your party, Katherine,” K.I.T.T corrected.  “You are the one who saved us.”

Kat shook her head.  “I only helped. You're the one who did everything.”

“My job is to assist you, Katherine.  Not the other way around.  There is no point to me without my Driver.”

Kat opened her mouth to argue, but decided against it.  There was rapidly disappearing pizza upstairs.  “We'll debate this later.”  She turned and ran lightly up the metal staircase.

The energy level in the kitchen was set to maximum.  The hum of everyone's voices was loud enough that Kat wondered if K.I.T.T could hear a low buzz through the dental implant.

She quickly hurried over to the table with the pies.  She opened one box, but it was empty.  She slid it off the table and stowed it underneath.  The next box had two slices left.  She grabbed both and put them on a plate.

She folded one up and was about to take a bite when she felt a tap on her shoulder.  She turned to find Angela beaming up at her.  Angela was a head shorter than Kat, and petite.  “Heya, Katherine.  Have a minute?”   Her arms were behind her back.

Kat looked down at her pizza.  “One," she said carefully.

Angela pulled her arms around, revealing two boxes in her hands.  One was flat and wide, the other was small.  “A bunch of us got you a couple of things, to show our thanks.”

Kat looked around at the people gathered there.  Some were turned to her, smiling.  “You didn't have to do that.”

“What's going on?” K.I.T.T asked in her ear.

“They got me presents,” Kat answered him.  No one seemed fazed by the fact that she seemed to be talking to herself.  They must have been used to it with Sam.

Angela shook the boxes lightly.  “Come on, open them.”

Kat set her pizza down on the table and took the small gift first.  “We all chipped in, but Carmen picked those out,” Angela explained as Kat tore through the silver wrapping.

She opened the white box and pulled out a pair of leather driving gloves.  They were black and looked expensive.  “Thank you, Carmen.”  She looked over at the Head Mechanic.

Carmen shrugged, indifferent.  “It was nothing.”  Her attitude towards Kat was no longer blatantly hostile, but there was still a long road ahead of them before they became friends.

“They'll go great with this,” Angela said excitedly.  She thrust the larger package into Kat's hands.

Kat unwrapped the clothing box, then lifted the lid.  Under some tissue paper was more black leather.  Angela pulled the vest out and unfolded it.  She smiled at Kat radiantly.  “What do you think?  I picked it out.”

Kat smiled back.  “I thought the tenth anniversary was leather," she joked.

Angela laughed.  “Try it on, I want to see how it fits.  I had to guess the size.”  Kat sat the empty box on the table.  Angela helped her into the vest, then zipped up the front for her.  Not all the way, just so it hid her white tank top.

It fit her snugly, molding to the contours of her body.  It was a little tight at her chest, but not uncomfortable.  Angela nodded to herself.  “Good, I got it exactly right.”

“Thank you, Angela.  This is really nice of you.”  She looked around the room.  “Of all of you," she amended.

“Hey, you saved us big time,” Angela said, shrugging.  “We're a tight group here, we're there for each other.  We appreciate those that are there for us.”  Several people nodded in agreement.

“You're one of us now, no more escaping,” Someone said from the back.

“Dear lord,” Kat said in mock horror.  Angela giggled.

After the pizza was devoured, everyone went back to work.  Some would have stayed and talked to Kat, but David had entered the kitchen then, a disapproving look on his face.  “It is the middle of a work day,” he reminded everyone as they filed out of the kitchen.

Charles walked over to him.  David gave him a steady look.  As Charles got closer he could see the bruise on the younger man's cheek was finally fading.  “Your idea, I suppose,” David said sourly.

“Of course,” Charles replied, unconcerned by David's attitude.  “The past six months have been rather tense for everyone involved.  Samuel's tragedy only made things harder.  Some levity was called for.”

“Three Thousand makes no more pizza runs,” David said icily.  “That is not its purpose.”

Charles nodded.  “Very well.  I knew you would say something like this.”

David looked at him suspiciously.  Charles' passive nature had always sparked his paranoia.  “I mean it.  Three Thousand is not a toy.”

Charles chuckled.  “I would never dream of treating KITT like a toy.  You have nothing to worry about.”  He put a hand on the younger man's shoulder.  “You should really try relaxing some time.  It can be good for you.”

David laughed harshly.  “Yes, and watch the whole foundation go down the tubes.”  He shook his head.  “I'm sorry Charles, but someone needs to keep an eye on things.  There is too much at stake here.”

Finally, Charles looked troubled.  “So, it's true then? I had heard the rumors...”

David nodded.  "We're going under.  All of our other projects aren't enough to keep us afloat.  If we don't get some viable use from Three Thousand, then Knight Industries will file for bankruptcy some time in the new year.”  His dark eyes narrowed.  “Damn the economy...”  He gave Charles a sharp look.  “I'll focus on the financial situation.  You just keep the project running.”

“We're going to be doing a lot of good, David.  You'll see,” Charles assured him.

“You're such a good guy.  You only focus on the people we'll be helping,” David made it sound like an insult.

“And you are utterly ruthless, David,” Charles told him.

“We need ruthless," he answered.  “Why do you think the villains get where they are?  Because they will do whatever it takes.  Anything it takes.”

“You're talking about Katherine.”

David's eyes were hard.  “I don't regret lying to her.  I don't feel bad either.  It worked, that's all that matters.”

Charles shook his head.  “The ends don't justify the means.”

“You have work to do,” David told him.  “I have stockholders to appease.”  He shrugged off Charles' hand and walked out of the kitchen.

 


	7. Second Knight - Part 2

F.L.A.G Underground Facility

Kat went back to her room to pick up her books.  She still had a long day of reading ahead of her.  She talked to Angela for a bit while she was there, thanking her again for the gifts.

She returned to K.I.T.T about half an hour later.  She was met by a different scene than was usual.  K.I.T.T stood on a heavy white tarp that covered his circle.  A white plastic mask covered the lower half of Carmen's face, and she wore goggles and heavy gloves.  She had a large air-powered sprayer in one hand.  With the other hand she held a long hose that was connected to it, keeping it out of her way so she wouldn't step on it.

“What's going on?” Kat asked.  The noise of the sprayer was loud, so no one heard her but K.I.T.T.

“Carmen is reapplying my nano skin,” K.I.T.T answered.

“She can just spray it on?” Kat asked.  “I thought it was a lot thicker than that.”

“Technically, it is thick.  Amino acids are microscopic.  Right now, she is applying many layers over what is still left.  The circuits do regenerate themselves, but the rate of decay surpasses it slightly.  Once a month, Carmen applies another coat.”

Kat watched as Carmen worked.  She was spraying K.I.T.T all over.  Not just the body, but the windshield, windows, and lights too.  She had K.I.T.T roll back so she could get all sides of the tires as well.

Kat flipped through the book Carmen had given her.  “All that's probably in here somewhere, isn't it?”

“Page 675,” K.I.T.T answered promptly.

Kat turned to the page.  There was a diagram of the two types of circuit that the amino acids made up.  She skimmed through the pages and came to the next chapter.  “What's a 'Molecular-Bonded Shell'?”

“That's what's under my nano-skin.” K.I.T.T replied.  “That's only ever applied to a part once.  It never erodes or decays on its own.  Only certain acids are able to eat through it.”

Kat's eyebrows shot up as she read.  “It says here, and I quote, 'This shell provides a frame tolerance of 223,000 lb (111.5 tons) and a front and rear axle suspension load of 57,000 lb (28.5 tons)'.”  She snapped the book shut.  “You have got to be kidding me.”

“No, it's completely true.”

“That's insane. If you have that, why are they bothering with the nano-skin?”

“Like I said, certain acids will wear through the shell, my nano-skin protects it against that.  It can also do things that the Molecular-Bonded Shell cannot, like change license plates, and color.  Finally, my nano-skin has its own vulnerabilities.  Those are classified, of course.”

“Of course.  So... if one fails, the other one backs it up?” Kat asked, understanding.

“Precisely, you can never be too safe.”

“I guess that's true," she mused.  “Talk about overkill, though.  If someone put you in one of those car compactors, you would break it.”

“It would have to depend on the compactor.  I'm not eager to test it out.”

She laughed.  “Neither am I.”

The loud noise from the sprayer ceased.  Carmen pulled off her mask.   “Okay, KITT, test it out.  I want to see if I missed a spot.”

K.I.T.T changed through several colors.  Liquid silver, hunter green, bright red, midnight blue, and finally hot pink.  “KITT, you look fabulous,” Kat teased him, walking over.

K.I.T.T changed quickly back to glossy black.  Kat and Carmen laughed. “The rojo is my favorite.  It's so sexy,” Carmen grinned.  “But he just stays black.”  She waved a hand at him and sighed.

“The red was pretty hot,” Kat said, suppressing a smirk.  She hadn't seen Carmen in such a good mood before.  She wanted to keep it going.

K.I.T.T changed back to the red.  Carmen snickered as she walked around him, looking for bare spots.  “He's blushing,” she joked.  Kat put a hand over her mouth, trying to hold in her laughter.

“You said you preferred the red,” K.I.T.T said to Carmen, his tone slightly accusatory.

“I always tell you that, you never listen to me,” Carmen told him. “But when Katherine says something...” she trailed off.

“Kat's my Driver," K.I.T.T said defensively.  “I have to listen to her.”

“Oh, so it's Kat now...” Carmen teased.

Kat shook with silent laughter.  She decided to give the poor car a break and changed the subject.  “So, what do you think of my presents?"

“That was very nice of Angela,” K.I.T.T answered.

“Do they suit me though?  I've never thought of myself as the leather type.”

K.I.T.T paused.  “I'm not certain.  I have no frame of reference to make that judgment.”

“He's dodging,” Carmen said knowingly.  “All men are like that.”

“Pierce, help me,” K.I.T.T pleaded.

Pierce rose from his desk.  “Okay Carmen, knock it off.  You're confusing him.”  He frowned at her.  Carmen stuck her tongue out at him.

He sighed heavily at the childish display.  “If you'll excuse me,” Pierce said to the three of them.  “I have to go upstairs and greet my new intern. Or, as I like to call him...”  His lips pulled back over his teeth.  “Fresh meat.”

Carmen rolled her eyes.  Kat looked interested.  “Intern?  I didn't think of this place as a learning environment.”

“It is not, as such," Pierce said.  “Everyone on my team is at the top of their particular field.”  He gestured around.  “The twins I am especially fond of.”

Kat followed his glance, spying a pair working at desks whose fronts were pushed together.  They were a male and a female.  Kat hazarded a guess at their nationality, settling on Chinese as her best bet.  They had the same raven-black hair.  Even being different genders, their faces were eerily similar.  They wore identical expressions of determination as they worked.

“Kai," the female called to her brother.  He was at her side at once.  She pointed at something on her monitor.

“What about-” the male, Kai, began.

“Of course, I've overlooked-”

“-and over five degrees, Rei.”

Kat arched a brow at Pierce.  Pierce looked smug.  “Eerie, isn't it?  I've never heard them say a complete sentence to each other.”  He paused.  “All of my technicians are the best, as I have said.  That has a drawback though.  They are less eager to learn.  They have already decided on how they think and act.  I need someone who is fresh, unshaped.”

“Someone you can brainwash into thinking exactly like you," Carmen muttered.  She slid under K.I.T.T, checking the layering of the nano-skin underneath.

Pierce's smile was pleased.  “Exactly.  Now, if you'll excuse me.”  He headed up the metal staircase.

Kat looked back at K.I.T.T.  “How long until you're dry?  I still have to familiarize myself with your overly complicated dashboard.”

“I've been dry this whole time.  The nano-skin adheres on contact,” K.I.T.T informed her.

“Stuff is impossible to get off,” Carmen said ruefully as she slid out from under K.I.T.T.  “That's why I have the gloves and mask.”

“Okay then.”  Kat placed her hand on the door handle.  The door unlocked automatically and she stepped inside.  She shut the door and went back to her reading.

Carmen glanced at Kat through the window.  She was absorbed in her studying.  She sat down next to K.I.T.T's hood.  “KITT, let me give you some advice about Katherine.”

“What kind of advice?” K.I.T.T asked.  He used his outer speaker only.  His interior was sound-proof, so Kat could not hear them.

“Next time she asks you anything, **anything** , about how she looks, you compliment her, _comprende_?” Carmen told him firmly.

“How would I compliment her?”

“Tell her she looks nice, or beautiful, _muy bella_ ,” she said. “Or whatever.  You're the one with the built in thesaurus.  Go nuts.”

“I don't have an opinion on Kat's physical appearance."

“You don't ever tell her that, do you hear me?”  Carmen was dead serious.  “You want to start a fight?”

“I do wish to avoid future arguments," K.I.T.T mused.

“Good, then listen to _Mami_.”  Carmen patted his hood and walked back to her station.

 

********

 

Kat sighed heavily, closing the book.  Her neck and shoulders ached from being bent over it the past two hours.  She was only halfway through both of the books Pierce and Carmen had given her.  She didn't think she would ever finish them.

She had a funny feeling Pierce was going to spring a test on her soon.  She rubbed the sore muscles in her neck and wondered if she should use K.I.T.T to cheat.  Pierce would prepare for that though.

“Kat, David wants-” K.I.T.T began, but was interrupted by David's face appearing on the windshield just then.

He spoke immediately.  “The FBI has just contacted me.  They've sent the details of their trial mission.”

“Am I leaving now?” Kat asked at once.

“We have a bit more time to prepare this time around,” David answered.  “The details of the mission are as follows: Surveillance of a known hideout of weapons dealers Kevin Andrews, Carol Levins, and Cory Mitchell.”  David spoke like he was reading off of a piece of paper.  As he said each of the suspect's names a dossier for them appeared on the windshield next to his face.

Kat put a fingertip to the windshield, scrolling through the lists of arrests for Kevin Andrews.  There were many arrests over the years, but little jail time served.  “This guy must have one hell of a lawyer,” Kat muttered.

Andrews represents himself, as well as his two accomplices,” David told her.  “The FBI has tried to nail him for years, but he always gets away on a technicality, or lack of evidence.  He uses the law to help himself.”

“So... the FBI wants someone who works outside of the law to find the evidence they need to shut him down for good?” Kat guessed.

David smiled.  It wasn't a happy, cheerful smile.  It was a smile that belonged on a shark.  “Exactly.  The FBI knows where his base of operations is, they just can't seem to get a warrant to raid it.”

“Oh, let me guess why," Kat offered.  “Andrews is paying off a judge?”  She thought for a moment.  “Or judges?”

One of David's eyebrows twitched, but the rest of his face remained a mask of professionalism.  “That could very well be true.  Whatever the reason, the FBI can't touch him.  They've decided to let us try our hand.”  He went back to his reading.  “Once you have gathered evidence of illegal weapons dealing and/or storing, contact FBI liaison Karen Summers.”

“So, we go there, find the goods, then let the FBI take over?” Kat asked.  “That doesn't sound too bad.”

“Do not let your guard down,” David warned her.  “Infiltration of the premises will be required, the FBI won't accept X-Rays.  There is a very real danger here.”

She nodded.  “When do we leave?”

“In a few hours.  Pierce will outfit you before you leave.  That is all.”  David's face disappeared.

Kat looked over at K.I.T.T's voice modulator.  “You've been awful quiet.”

“David doesn't like it when I talk,” K.I.T.T explained.

Kat frowned deeply.  “Has he said that?”

“I'm not allowed tell you any information about David,” K.I.T.T answered.

“Another block?” Kat asked.

“Yes.  I can see now when I am approaching one.  I don't think you will get any more surprises.”

She nodded.  “We'll just avoid those touchy subjects.”

“That would be for the best.”

“Okay then.  I will go see what Pierce is going to 'outfit' me with.”  She opened the door and stepped out.

She walked over to Pierce's desk.  He was waiting for her.  His desktop was cleared, and a few items were laid out on it.  “Are you ready for your second mission?”

“Ready as I'll ever be,” she answered.  The idea of tracking down dangerous criminals still didn't appeal to her all that much.

“I have a few presents for you,” he said with an amused glint in his blue eyes.

“Oh, you too?” Kat teased.

“These have a practical purpose,” he explained.  “Not just aesthetic.”  He handed her the first object off of the desk.

She held it in her hand.  It was a blank key with a black rubber top.  “A key?”

“Not just any key,” he corrected.  “Every key.”

Kat's eyebrows raised.  “How does that work?”

Pierce took the key from her hand.  “Insert it into the lock,” he said as he mimed the motion.  “Press the button on the top.  Pull out the key.  You will then be able to unlock the door with it.”

“Sounds pretty useful,” Kat praised.  She remembered that she needed Pierce's help to find out more about Sam.  A little ego boost couldn't hurt her chances of getting information.

Pierce smiled.  He handed her a covered vial.  “Extra contacts," he told her.  Then he gave her a large, folded square of cloth.

Kat unfolded the shirt.  It was a sleeveless turtleneck.  It was dark red and sheer.  She couldn't tell what it was made of.  It felt strange in her hands.  Too smooth, almost slippery.

Her expression was confused.  “Thank you, Pierce.  This is really nice.”  It did look rather nice, but...  “What does it do?”

"Every Knight needs their armor," he joked.

Her eyebrows shot up.  “Armor, this thing?  You're kidding.”

His smile was bordering on devious.  “Would you like a demonstration?”

“Please.”

Pierce rose out of his chair.  He was a good half a head taller than her, one of the few people on the compound that were taller than her.  Kat was taller than all the other women, and half of the men.

He led her off into a side room.  It was long, rectangular and painted white, the floor and ceiling too.  It was far from pristine though.  The back wall looked very much abused.  Kat thought she recognized bullet holes riddling the plaster.  The other end was divided from the rest by a clear, thick wall.  “Plexiglass,” Pierce explained, indicating the wall.  Kat nodded.

In the larger portion of the room, a stand was already set up.  Draped over it was a large square of material similar to what her new shirt was made of.  He walked over to it and lifted up the corner.  “Weightless, thin, just like your shirt.”

Then he led her behind the plexiglass divider.  There were cabinets placed along the wall here.  Pierce pulled out a set of keys, selected one and unlocked a cabinet.  He pulled out a handgun and began screwing on a silencer.  Kat's eyes widened.

Pierce smiled.  “I was prepared for you to be skeptical,” he told her.  He loaded the gun and held it out to her, handle first.  “Would you like to do the honors?” he asked.  “My marksmanship is admittedly poor.”

“I'm not too bad.”  Kat placed the shirt on a convenient table and took the gun from him.  “You want me to shoot the cloth,” she guessed.

He nodded.  “One shot will do.”  He indicated a hole cut into the plexi-glass.

Kat slipped the gun through the hole.  She aimed carefully and fired.  The bullet went right through the cloth like it wasn't there, and embedded into the wall behind it.  “Okay, the cloth has a hole in it now," she informed him, handing back the gun.

“Hold onto that for a second,” he told her.  He walked around the plexiglass wall and over to the cloth.  He touched a corner.  Kat frowned. The cloth looked different now.  It didn't move when Pierce brushed it with his hand as he turned back to her.  “Try it again," he said, walking back over.

Kat put the gun through the hole again.  “Wait until I am behind the glass.”  Pierce quickened his pace, half running.

Once he was behind the plexiglass barrier, Kat shot the cloth again.  There was the sharp sound of ricochet across the room, then again against the plexiglass.  The second sound was much louder and startled her.  The cloth rocked rigidly on its stand, not losing it's shape.

Her eyes went wide.  She looked at Pierce, lowering the gun.  “What was that?”

Pierce smirked, his blue eyes positively danced.  He lifted up her shirt off of the table.  He pinched a spot on the collar and the whole thing went stiff in his hands.  He pinched the same spot again and it went loose.

A spark of understanding flared in her mind.  “Don't tell me that stuff is coated with-”

“Bio-nanos," Pierce finished for her, nodding.

Kat folded her arms over her chest and arched a brow at him.  That explained the shirt's strange texture.  “You could have just told me what it was in the beginning, and skipped the demonstration,” she said coyly.

His smile widened.  “The demonstration was more fun.”  He handed her the shirt.  “It's a light coating.  K.I.T.T can stand up to missiles, he also has his Molecular-Bonded Shell to back him up.  You can stand up to a few bullets.”  His face turned serious.  “Just remember that you are still flesh and blood underneath.  The bullet won't pierce the shirt, but you'll still feel it.”

“Not indestructible.  I think I can handle that.”  She smiled.

He smiled back at her.  His gaze was suddenly much more intent.  “You should get changed," he said as he continued to stare at her.

“Can I do it somewhere private?” she asked, keeping her voice light.

Pierce blinked at her.  “Oh, of course,” he said swiftly.  He stepped aside and she walked past him, around the barrier.  “The bathroom is on the other side of the main lab.”

“I know," she said as she walked out of the door.

Pierce watched her go, then exhaled slowly.  He pushed his glasses up his nose and frowned.

 


	8. Second Knight - Part 3

Seattle, Washington

“I think the FBI assigned this to us just so they could avoid the stakeout," Kat said bitterly.  She and K.I.T.T had been watching the warehouse that was the suspect's headquarters for the past six hours.

They were in an empty part of town.  It mostly housed factories and other industrial buildings.  The building they were watching was four stories tall and wide.  K.I.T.T had run an infrared scan upon arriving and they were now waiting for the warehouse to be empty so Kat could break inside.

Kat shifted in the Driver's seat, trying to get comfortable.  She was developing cramps in both legs.  She stretched them out as best as she could but she still felt restless.  She had to get out and walk around soon.

“I'm hungry," she sighed, leaning her head back.  She realized as she said it just how true that was.  Her stomach roared at her.

“There is food under the passenger's seat,” K.I.T.T offered.

She lifted her head hopefully.  “Food is good. I'll take food.”  She reached under the passenger's seat and found a handle.  She pulled on it and a small drawer slid open.  She rummaged through the contents.  There were a few MRE's and two boxes of instant coffee.  “Ugh.”  Kat wrinkled her nose at the coffee.  “Are there any tea bags in here?”

“Affirmative.”

She found the small box of teabags just then.  They were next to a travel mug.  “Well, we are two-thirds of the way to a cup of tea," Kat said ruefully.  “I still need hot water.”

“I carry a ten gallon tank of water for emergency purposes," K.I.T.T informed her.

“Can you make it hot?” she asked hopefully.

“Of course.”

Kat looked around the interior.  "How do I get to it?"

“The tap is behind your seat.”

Kat crawled into the backseat.  She looked at the back of her seat and frowned.  A panel snapped down for her, revealing the water tap and a large first-aid kit.  “That's going to come in handy eventually," Kat predicted.

“Let's keep a positive attitude."

She snorted as she screwed the lid onto her travel mug and crawled back to the front seat.  “So, did Charles assume that your driver would find himself living inside of you when he designed you?”

“There is always the possibility that we could get stranded somewhere for an extended period of time, without food and water nearby.  I have basic life support functions for just such a situation.”

Kat sipped her tea slowly.  “That's good.”  she said, a little distantly.  She sighed.  “I miss the sky.”  So many things about her new life were so strange.  It made her think of her old life.  What she had given up was still inside of her, not letting her forget.

“It's a clear day,” K.I.T.T said, slightly confused.

“I know,” Kat said longingly.  “Such a perfect day.  Visibility would be perfect for miles.”  What she wouldn't give to be in the air again...

She finished her tea and sat up straight.  She looked at the FLIR scan on the windshield.  “There's only one of them in the building right now.  And he or she is on the top floor.  I could probably sneak in and get some video evidence real quick.”

“That is highly dangerous,” K.I.T.T warned.

“So is sitting here.  They're going to notice if we hang around for days while we wait for the warehouse to be empty.  I'll bet that they always leave someone there.  They're a careful bunch to have evaded the FBI for this long.  They're not going to be making any simple mistakes.”

“What do you want to bet?” K.I.T.T asked.

Kat gave his modulator a sidelong glance.  “I'm going.”

“How about you stay and we make that bet?”

“I can take care of myself, KITT.  I was a Marine.”

“Sam said the same thing all the time.”

Kat went still.  Her eyes narrowed dangerously.  She felt anger rise up inside of her that the car would take such a cheap shot.  She had to remind herself that he only did it to try and keep her safe.  He had lost a Driver already.  It had probably severely affected his AI.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  “I'm still going," she said, opening the door.  “Just let me know if the suspect on the top floor moves.”  She stepped out and looked around.  She walked calmly down the street to the building, then around the back.

K.I.T.T waited for Katherine.  Five minutes passed and a man walked purposefully over to him.  He scanned the man, studying him closely.  He had not come from the building, and did not seem to be related to the mission.

The man walked to the Driver's door and glanced around once, making sure no one was around.  He pulled an odd instrument from his pocket.  He reached under the door handle.  “Please step back,” K.I.T.T told him firmly.  “Only my Driver is authorized to enter.”

“Stupid alarms," the man muttered under his breath, while still searching under the handle.  He didn't seem to find what he was looking for, because he bent down and looked.  “The hell?  No keyhole?”  He ran a hand over the smooth surface of the door, as if it was hidden somehow.

K.I.T.T was really starting to dislike this man.  His programming only allowed his Driver access.  Anyone else was immediately and thoroughly rejected by it.  He tolerated Pierce, Charles and Carmen, as long as they sat in the passenger's seat, and didn't touch the steering wheel.  “I repeat, please step back," he said tightly.  “Only my Driver is authorized to enter.”

“Just shut up,” the man muttered.  He gave up on the keyhole, instead pulling a heavy crowbar from his jacket.

Now K.I.T.T recognized him as a threat, and not merely an annoyance.  His programming took over.  “I do not recommend touching me again," he said threateningly.  “You will not like the consequences.”

The man continued to ignore him.  He hefted up the crowbar, preparing to strike the window.  He placed a hand on the top of the car for support, and to partially hide what he was doing.

When his hand touched the surface of the car, K.I.T.T sent an electrical pulse through his nano-skin, jolting the man harshly.  The charge was quick, so the man shook, then fell back.  He sat on the pavement, startled and in pain.  He stared at K.I.T.T for a long moment.  He dropped the crowbar and got to his feet shakily.  He slowly stumbled away.

 

********

 

Kat frowned at the locked door.  The key gadget Pierce had given her wasn't working.  It must be dead-bolted as well. She looked it over.  It was solid metal.  No chance of breaking it down herself then.

“KITT, come here and give me a hand," she whispered.

“I don't have a hand,” K.I.T.T responded.

Kat rubbed the spot between her eyes.  “Just get your butt back here and help me out.”

There was a brief pause.  “Kat, I don't have a-”

“Listen,” she interrupted him, speaking through clenched teeth.  “Drive around and break this door for me or I am going to go over there and rip your gear shift off.”

“On my way.”

Kat sighed heavily, rolled her eyes.  Despite the fact that they were getting along much better than when they started out, Kat still found the car's literal way of thinking annoying.

She wasn't waiting more than thirty seconds before K.I.T.T was there, facing the door.  “Should I break in the door with my battering ram?” he asked in her ear.

“That will draw attention,” Kat whispered.  “Can you use your laser to cut through the deadbolt?”

K.I.T.T scanned the door, locating the two deadbolts.  “Affirmative.  Please stand back.”

Kat retreated a safe distance while K.I.T.T's laser burned two neat holes into the metal door.  Before the metal had cooled, she tried the knob again.  The door swung open easily.  “Thanks, go back to your post.”  She waved to him, disappearing into the warehouse.

K.I.T.T watched her close the door.  He waited a moment, then returned silently to his spot on the street.  The suspect inside had moved around, but had not left the floor.  No one else was approaching the building.

 

********

 

Kat moved stealthily in the large space, keeping to the walls.  She took a deep breath, filling her lungs, then pressed the spot on her collar.  Her shirt hardened, and she could still breathe.  She wasn't comfortable, but she was relatively safe.  Well, her torso was.

The only light came from the large frosted windows in the front.  And that was weak at best.  The whole first floor was shrouded in shadows.  “K.I.T.T, can you help me see?” she asked hopefully.

Suddenly, the entire room brightened, taking on a greenish glow.  The light from the windows stayed the same brightness, not blinding her.  This wasn't like the regular night vision goggles she was used to.  “Is there anything you can't do?” she asked dryly, hiding that she was impressed.

“Give you a hand?” K.I.T.T offered.

“KITT, are you pretending that you have a sense of humor?”

“I wouldn't dream of it.”

Kat was suspicious.  “Good,” she whispered anyway.

She crept to the other end of the warehouse.  Her footsteps were soft and the wooden floorboards squeaked only slightly.  She doubted that the sound would carry through three floors.  There were some crates stacked up over in the corner that looked promising.

She approached them carefully.  Most of them were open, and empty.  Okay, she knew that this wasn't going to be easy.

She took a step back, debating her next move.  Should she chance moving to the second floor?

She stepped on something and looked down.  A metal ring was set into the floor.  The area around it was swept clean, while the rest of the floor was quite dusty.  Well now, this looked promising.

“How is our suspect?” she asked K.I.T.T

“The suspect has moved down to the third floor.

“Okay then.”  Kat bent down and took the ring in two hands.  She pulled upwards.

The trapdoor lifted smoothly, the hinges were well oiled.  A wooden ladder descended into the basement, which she could see perfectly.  She smiled to herself.

She began climbing down the ladder.  “Kat, you've disappeared,” K.I.T.T said at once.  “The area you are in must be shielded against infrared.  Exit immediately, there might be someone else down there.”

Kat was already at the bottom of the ladder by then.  She felt someone behind her.  Then there was a blinding flash of pain in her side.  Her body shook briefly before darkness clouded her vision.  Then she was falling...

 

********

 

“Kat,” K.I.T.T called to her.  He tried once more while simultaneously sending a message to Pierce.  “Katherine!”

Back at the lab, Pierce answered K.I.T.T.  “What's happened?"

“Katherine's disappeared,” K.I.T.T told him.  “She went into a shielded area, and now she is not responding.  She is in the building's basement, what is the best way for me to get down there?”

“Show me the building,” Pierce said quickly.  K.I.T.T sent him the information and he put it up on the big screen.  The other technicians stopped their work and studied the pictures and diagrams as well.

“The ground is lower on the south side of the building,” Kai said.  “He could break in through there-”

“-then use Turbo Boost to jump out through the floor,” Rei finished.

Pierce nodded.  “That sounds like the best option. K.I.T.T-”

“Wait fifteen minutes.  If you do not hear from her, then come back to the facility,” David's voice came from above.

Everyone turned and looked up at him.  He was staring at the big screen, one hand on the metal railway.

Pierce couldn't hide his scowl.  He opened his mouth to protest, but Charles beat him to it.  “There is a high possibility that Katherine is still alive.”  He had exited his office as well and was down the walkway from David.

David turned to Charles, his hand still on the rail.  He spoke calmly.  “Wait fifteen minutes.  If there is still no response, then the chance that she is alive is nearly nonexistent."

“She could be alive now, and dead in fifteen minutes!” Pierce said heatedly.

David ignored him, he was still staring Charles down.  “This is an unknown situation.  We do not know what is going on down there, what the threat is.  Three Thousand is the priority, Katherine is not.”  He turned away then, walking back to his office.

“Katherine is the Driver,” Charles reminded him.

David paused with his hand on the doorknob.  “We all know perfectly well by now, that drivers are dispensable,” he said so low that only Charles heard him.  Then he was gone, closing the office door behind him.

Pierce's blue eyes were narrowed.  He looked up at Charles.  “We're not losing another Driver," he told him firmly.  His words were echoed in the faces of everyone in the lab.

Charles nodded.  “Since you are obviously going to follow David's orders to the letter, I feel safe leaving you unattended while I go back to work, which I can do without worry of any insubordination.”  He turned and walked back into his office.

Pierce smiled grimly. He turned back to his computer.  “Okay KITT, you know the plan.”

“Affirmative.”  K.I.T.T was already driving around to the south side of the building.

 


	9. Second Knight - Part 4

Meanwhile, Kat was staring down the barrel of an assault rifle.

She sat on a crate, looking up at the woman behind the gun.  She wore combat fatigue pants and a black tank top.  Her brown hair was done up in a messy ponytail.  She held the rifle one-handed.  She smiled at Kat.  “If you say one word without me telling you to, I will shoot you in the head.”

They were in a small circle of light coming from a bare bulb set into the ceiling.  Shadows surrounded them from all sides.  That meant that her eye-cam wasn't working.  The jolt that the woman had given her from the taser in her other hand had probably fried the tiny circuitry.

Her chest wasn't constricted, so that meant the shirt was dead as well.  She wondered how the dental implant had fared, not that she could test it out.  She narrowed her eyes at the woman.

“Oooh, nice expression!” the woman exclaimed.  “It just begs for death.  Now, who are you?”  Kat remained silent.  The woman nudged her cheek with the barrel of the rifle.  “Answer or die.”

“Katherine Knight,” Kat said tensely.

“That's a good girl.”  The woman had a high, sweet voice that contrasted sharply with the cruel expression on her face.  There was a buzzing at her hip.  She holstered her taser and pulled a cellphone from her pocket and flipped it open one-handed.  “A little busy right now,” she said into it irritably.

“The door?  No worries, I've got the intruder here.”  She listened for a moment.  “It's probably her car, go check it out.”  She hung up the phone.  She hadn't taken her eyes off of Kat the whole time.  “Now, Miss Knight.  You hardly look like the most unlucky burglar in the world.  So, why are you here?  Are you with the FBI?  Or are you alone?”

“I'm not with the FBI,” Kat answered.  “But I'm also not alone.”

Outside, K.I.T.T assessed the exterior.  There was a small window that was painted over.  He fired his grappling hook at it.  It crashed through the window, shattering it completely.

Inside, the woman turned instinctively to the sound of breaking glass.  “What the-”

Kat sprang then, when her attention was turned away.  She grabbed the barrel of the rifle, pushing it up to aim at the ceiling.  In the same motion she brought her knee up into the woman's midsection.

K.I.T.T reeled in the line and the hook caught securely to the window frame.  He hit reverse.  His tires squealed against the pavement for a few tense seconds before the frame and part of the wall gave way.  He shot back ten feet before braking hard.  He reeled in his line all the way and drove back to the wall.  He scanned as much of the interior as he could through the hole he had made while he readied his grappling hook for a second attempt.

He identified Kat and Carol Levins struggling inside.  Kat was trying to disarm the woman, but she fought back fiercely.

Kat had one hand on the rifle, keeping it pointed upward.  The other hand held her opponent's wrist.  The woman pulled her head back and then slammed it into Kat's face, stunning her.  Kat fell back a step, her grasp slipping.  The woman brought the rifle down, but she had to back up to aim it at Kat.

Kat recovered and grabbed the rifle with both hands, finally managing to twist it from the other woman's grasp.  With one swift, practiced movement, she brought the butt of the rifle down on the side of the woman's head.  The woman crumpled to the floor.

K.I.T.T tore out another section of wall.  “Kat?” he called to her.

“I'm fine.”  She had heard him in her ear, that meant the implant had survived.  She felt her injured nose.  It was tender, but wasn't bleeding.

“Hold on.  I'm coming to retrieve you.”

“Wait a second,” she told him.  In the light coming from the hole in the wall, she had spotted several stacks of crates.  She headed toward them.

From above, a figure jumped down at her.  He landed on her hard, forcing her to the ground.  The rifle was knocked from her hand and skidded across the floor.  Kat struggled, but couldn't find enough leverage to force him off of her.  He pulled out a handgun and aimed it at her.

K.I.T.T fired his grappling hook again.  This time it hit the man in the side.  The man was knocked off of Kat.  He flew several feet before he hit the floor.  He didn't move after.

Kat got to her feet slowly.  She ached in several places.  Her arm hung at her side limply.  Her shoulder was dislocated from when the man had jumped on her.  She needed both hands in order to bind the suspect's hands with her cable ties.  She would have to leave them be for now.  “If one of them moves, shoot them again.”

“With pleasure.”  K.I.T.T reeled in his steel line.  “And I won't say I told you so.”

“You just did,” she muttered as she walked over to the fallen rifle and picked it up.  “Get a shot of this," she said, holding it up.  She opened a few of the crates and showed K.I.T.T the contents.  “Assault rifles... grenades...”  She opened another crate.  “Nerve gas.  Looks like it's time to contact FBI Liaison Karen Summers.”

“Her team is already on their way,” K.I.T.T answered.

“Oh good, you called them already.”

“It wasn't me.  It was someone back at the compound.  I reported what had happened to you.”

“It's good to see they're on the ball.”  Kat smiled.

“They always are,” K.I.T.T told her.

“I'm starting to see that.”  Kat walked over to him.  The wall he had taken out was about three feet off of the basement floor.  She scrambled up to him as best as she could with one arm.

Suddenly, K.I.T.T fired his grappling hook again.  Kat was right in front of his hood.  Her eyes widened as it sped past her, so close that the steel ruffled her hair.  The tri-pointed retractable hook hit someone behind her.  She heard them cry out in pain, then fall to the ground.

She turned slowly and looked behind her.  Carol Levins was now lying unconscious on another part of the floor.  K.I.T.T retracted his grappling hook slowly.  “Are you alright?”

“Yeah... fine...” Kat said weakly.  She climbed up out of the building.  K.I.T.T opened the door for her and she slid into the seat.

She held her injured arm and groaned.  “I'm going to need you to drive us back.  After the FBI get here.”

“They are already here,” K.I.T.T replied as two large black vans pulled up to the front of the warehouse.

“Oh good.  We can leave right away then.”  She was feeling her various injuries now that the adrenaline was fading.  “That was awfully quick of them.”

“Most likely they were waiting nearby.”

Kat looked at the open Driver's door.  Her left arm was the injured one.  Closing it on her own would be difficult.  “Uhm, can you close the door for me?” she asked meekly.

“I will, after you speak with our new FBI Liaison,” K.I.T.T answered.

She frowned, but didn't say anything.  All she wanted to do was go lie down somewhere and ache for a bit, maybe have a hot shower.  Then she could have Dustin look at her arm.  Staying here longer didn't help her get those things.

All of the doors on both vans opened and people poured out.  Most went into the building.  One woman separated herself from the rest and headed over to K.I.T.T.

She was of average height, with long strawberry-blonde hair.  Her eyes were a sharp turquoise.  Kat suspected colored contacts.

She showed Kat her badge.  “FBI Agent Karen Summers.”

Kat offered the woman her good hand.  “Katherine Knight.”

“I believe you have some evidence for me?”

Kat blinked for a second.  “Oh, uh...”  She looked over at K.I.T.T's voice modulator.  A miniDisc popped out of his dash.  Kat grabbed it and handed it to the agent.  “Here you are.”

Karen took a closer look at Kat, noting how she cradled her arm to her chest.  “Are you injured, Miss Knight?  We can help you if you like.”  She pointed to one of the vans.

Kat shook her head.  “Thank you, but no.  I have to get back to base.  Our medic there will take a look at me.”

Karen's frown was slight.  “All right then,” she said, unconcerned.  She turned away from K.I.T.T.  As she walked away, she looked back for a second.  “Tell David that we're even.”

Kat's expression was confused.  K.I.T.T closed the Driver's door and pulled away from the warehouse.  “I wonder what she was talking about," she mused.

“We will have to wait until we report back to David,” K.I.T.T said.  His voice sounded almost... cheerful.

“What are you so happy about?” Kat asked irritably.  She was in pain, he shouldn't sound so happy.

“We've just completed our second successful mission,” K.I.T.T explained.  “I was right about the danger in the warehouse.  I saved your life.  Twice.”

Actually, he had saved her life three times that day, but Kat wasn't going to tell him that.  “You're awfully smug,” she said.  “I thought you weren't going to tell me 'I told you so'.”

“I apologize, but I was right,” K.I.T.T said, his voice didn't lose a trace of it's smugness.  “I'd say I've been doing exceptionally well as a sidekick so far.”

Kat rolled her eyes.  “Don't start that again.  If anyone is the sidekick here, it would be me.”

“Katherine, I was the one specifically designed to enhance my Driver's capabilities,” K.I.T.T replied.

She closed her eyes.  “I'm in too much pain to argue.  Let's talk about something else.”

“The new vest seems to have stood up pretty well,” K.I.T.T commented.

Kat looked down at the black leather vest covering her red shirt.  “Yeah, I'm really starting to like it."

“It's enhances your shape in an aesthetically pleasing way,” he told her.

Kat's brows pushed together.  “Uhm, thank you KITT...” she said slowly. “I think.”

“You're welcome.”

She shook her head.  “You know what, let's just listen to some music.”

“What do you want to listen to?”

Kat leaned her head back and covered her eyes with her arm.  “I don't care, you pick.”

Soon, Cake's 'You Turn the Screws' filled the interior.  Kat listened for a bit.  “This is a good song for David,” she said, the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement.

“You think so too?  I have a song for everyone on the team.”

Kat smiled.  “Really? What's mine?”

Another Cake song came on then.  Kat listened for a bit.  “Short Skirt, Long Jacket?” she asked.  She threw her head back and laughed.

 


	10. Second Knight - Part 5

When Kat returned to the compound, Dustin was waiting for her with a wheelchair.  Kat narrowed her eyes suspiciously at K.I.T.T's voice modulator.  “You told them I was hurt," she accused.

“I might have sent Dustin the medical scans I took of you on the way back, yes,” K.I.T.T answered.

“A wheelchair, KITT?” Kat raised an eyebrow.  “I can walk, really.”

“How is the taser burn on your right hip feeling?” K.I.T.T asked.

She frowned.  She had been trying to ignore that.  “I'm not crippled," she muttered.

KI.T.T popped open the Driver's door and Dustin wheeled the chair over to Kat.  “Would you like some help, Captain?” he asked courteously.

“I can get out on my own, thank you,” Kat assured him.  “I can walk perfectly fine as well.”

“Of course,” Dustin said, moving the wheelchair to the side.  “Right this way please.”  He led her past Pierce's workstation and to the Medical Room.

Soon, Dustin had popped her shoulder joint back into place.  It hurt like hell, but Kat was practiced at hiding physical pain.  Dustin told her that the burn didn't look bad, but gave her a cream for it anyway.  Other than a few bruises, she was fine.  He told her to be careful with her arm for about a week, just in case.

When she was done, all that was left was to give her report to David.  She was looking forward to that about as much as having her other shoulder dislocated.  She stalled for a bit in the main lab.

Pierce walked up to her, concern deep in his blue eyes.  “Are you alright, Katherine?  I- we were all worried when you disappeared.”

“Of course, I'm fine,” she assured him.  He was giving her with such an intense stare that she was starting to feel uncomfortable.  She dropped her eyes.  “You should really be worried about the eye-cam and the shirt.  I think they're both pretty much dead.”  She smiled ruefully.  “The only thing that survived was the dental implant.”

Pierce's brow furrowed.  “The dental implant survived?  Then how come you didn't contact KITT?  The warehouse basement was only shielded from X-Ray and Infrared. The signal from the implant still should have gone through.”

“I was being held hostage at the time,” Kat said, looking up at him.  “But KITT should have heard me talking.  I heard him when he came to get me.”

Pierce turned to K.I.T.T.  “I'm not picking up anything from the implant,” K.I.T.T told him.

“It might have been damaged after all.  It'll have to be replaced.” Pierce told her.

“Great,” Kat said.  The dental implant required oral surgery to place, it wasn't an experience she looked forward to.  Thankfully, Dustin was good at what he did.

Pierce was still staring at her.  Kat cast her mind around for something else to talk about.  She realized that she did have something to ask him.  Something to start her on her way to finding out what had happened to her brother.

“Pierce, what's Base2?”  K.I.T.T had mentioned it on her first mission.  There was only one thing she knew about it: Her brother had died there.

“Knight Industries Advanced Training and Testing Facility.  Base2 is what we call it here,” Pierce answered.  “It's where Charles will be testing you on KITT's functions.”

Kat was right about the test then.  She had a bad feeling about that.  “So, that's where all of KITT's testing takes place?”

“When it's not in the field,” he answered.  “All of Knight Industries projects are tested there, actually.  Security is not as strict, which is why we only use it occasionally.  Like when David needs some results he can show the Board of Directors.”

He was being free with this information.  Kat guess that maybe he didn't know Sam had been killed there.  David wouldn't stop at just her when hiding something.

“When am I going to be tested?” she asked.  She would have to see what she could learn at Base2 while she was there, the sooner the better.

“On Wednesday.”

“Christmas Eve?” she asked in surprise.

Pierce shrugged. “Yeah, why not?”

Kat shook her head.  It shouldn't surprise her that the team worked every day of the year.  She had never seen a group more dedicated to their work.  They were more organized than the military.  “It's fine, I didn't have plans anyway.”

“Katherine.”  Kat looked up at the walkway above them.  David was looking down at her.  His dark eyes were unreadable.  “Your report?”  His voice was cold, professional.  She hated it.

“Excuse me," she said to Pierce, then headed up the stairs.  She walked over to David calmly.  He held his office door open for her.  She stepped inside and he followed, closing the door behind them.

Kat stood in front of his desk.  There were two chairs, but Kat was starting to realize that she never wanted to be too relaxed around David.  It was like a mouse being at ease while waiting for the python to strike; impossible.

David took his seat.  He opened his laptop.  It was already on, the glow from the screen reflecting off of his nearly black eyes.  He looked up at her, his face expressionless.  “Proceed.”

Kat wasn't sure what the procedure of her reports was, so she just gave him a rundown of everything that had happened.  He asked her about which functions of K.I.T.T's she had used.  And about her equipment.

He frowned when she told him that the electric jolt from the taser had shorted out all of the bio-nano equipment she had on her.  He seemed pleased when she told him about K.I.T.T's creative use of his grappling hook.

He nodded to himself when she was finished.  He had been typing nearly the whole time, barely looking at her.  He turned his full attention on her now.  “After your test results come in, I will authorize Three Thousand's Attack Mode.”

Kat's eyebrows raised in surprise.  “A-attack Mode?”  She thought that K.I.T.T had only one mode: Pursuit.  She knew from Carmen's book that K.I.T.T could be refitted and thus become another car, but Pursuit Mode he could change into on his own.  Was Attack Mode the same?

“I decided it was best to disable Three Thousand's rather comprehensive offensive capabilities until it's Driver was a bit more experienced.  If you pass Charles' tests, then we can begin the weapons testing.”

Kat felt the blood drain from her face.  There was still so much more that she had to learn.  So, so much more than she had realized.  She had to know it all, everything, in order not to fail miserably.  And soon, because the Missions were only going to get more intense.  She had only been through 'Trial' Missions so far.  Sam had been preparing for months before he died.  He had been capable.  She had just barely scraped by.

“Is there anything else you wish to add to your report?” David asked.

Kat brought her attention back to her boss.  “Uh... just that FBI Agent Summers told me to tell you that you two were even.”

David grimaced.  “I figured as much. Dismissed.”

Kat turned and walked back to the door.  She opened it and stepped out.  She closed it behind her and leaned against it, sighing heavily.

“I sometimes feel the same way after talking to David,” Charles told her with a smile.  He walked over to her.  “More often than not, actually.”

Kat smiled weakly.  “Attack Mode?” she asked him.

His blue eyes were instantly understanding.  “Do not worry, child.  It'll be alright.”

Kat covered her eyes with the palms of her hands.  “I really hope so.”

 

********

 

Charles didn't knock, he just opened the door to David's office and walked in.  David looked up from his work and scowled at him.  “There is a reason I keep that closed," he told the older man.

“You like being antisocial?” Charles asked lightly.  He was smiling kindly at David.

David frowned and went back to his work.  “Is there a point to your little visit?”

“Actually, there is,” Charles answered.  “It's about Katherine.”

“I have nothing to say about her,” David said at once.

“No, of course not,” Charles said quickly.  “But you did have your friend in the FBI standing by watching her progress on this mission, didn't you?”

David didn't look up.  “I'm not heartless, Charles,” he muttered.

Charles chuckled softly.  “Yes, you are.  But you also recognize Katherine's potential.  She has value now.  She's not 'dispensable'.”

David turned his attention back on Charles.  “She can be replaced,” he assured him.

“Ah, but not easily,” Charles clarified.  David scowled as Charles wandered around the room.  He gave up all pretense of working and stared at him, his hands folded in front of him on the desk.

Charles stopped in front of a tall wooden cabinet with clear glass doors.  It was filled with photographs and other memorabilia.  “To think, another Long behind the wheel of K.I.T.T's predecessor...” Charles mused.  “There's something almost karmic about it.”

“Hardly,” David scoffed.  “The Longs is where I started my search.  Katherine is the only one that's left, by the way.”

Charles raised one snowy white eyebrow.  “That's a pity.  I was hoping to start a tradition.”  David snorted.


	11. The Knight Before Christmas - Part 1

**Episode 3 – The Knight Before Christmas**

**Chapter 1**

“Target building located,” K.I.T.T informed her.

Kat studied the display. Their target was a low building with various scorch marks on the red brick surface and all the windows broken. “What's my objective?”

“Enter through the front, then meet me on the other side,” K.I.T.T replied.

“Scan for any threats.”

K.I.T.T ran scans through several different filters. “Trip wire located three feet in front of the steps.” He highlighted it on his windshield. “The space under the second step is hollow as well.”

“A trap door?” Kat asked incredulously. “I bet Pierce thought that one up, he needs more imagination.” She opened her door. “See you around.” She sprinted toward the building.

She hopped lightly over the wire. It was a nearly invisible fishing line, but she was looking for it and saw it. She skipped the second step and was soon at the front door of the building. K.I.T.T left her and drove around the back.

Kat studied the old wooden door. The paint on it was faded and chipping in places. It looked like it would fall off its hinges at any second. “What am I really looking at here?” she asked K.I.T.T.

“Nothing,” K.I.T.T told her.

“That seems too easy,” Kat said, reaching for the doorknob. She pulled the door open easily, revealing a blank wall. “I knew it.”

“I told you it was nothing," K.I.T.T said defensively.

So now she had to decide if she was going to try and find the real door, or try her luck with one of the windows. She knew she was being timed on this, so she had to decide quickly.

The windows were all broken, jagged bits of glass still clung to the frames. She eyed the sharp edges. She wasn't going to stick her head in there and look around. So, where was the real door? “A little help here?”

“I'm not allowed to give you general help or advice during the test, Kat,” K.I.T.T reminded her. “You have to ask for a specific function.”

“Fine, X-Ray the wall.” She looked over the wall in front of her.

K.I.T.T sent the scans to her eye-cam. There were no hidden doors in the wall. “Dammit!” she swore. “Do they want me to break through the wall?” K.I.T.T was silent. “I don't suppose you can come back and help me?”

“I'm sorry, Kat-”

“Yeah yeah, okay, I'll figure this out on my own then.” Kat looked all around wildly. “There has to be something...” She spotted a metal bar attached horizontally to the wall above the fake door. She pondered it for a moment. “Scan the second floor.”

Suddenly she could see a large rectangular hole in the wall right above her. She jumped up and grabbed the metal bar with both hands and braced her feet against the wall. She then hauled herself up.

Her shoulder protested painfully. She had just dislocated it two days ago and was still on the mend, but she hadn't wanted to postpone the test.

She could see the doorway in front of her, because of K.I.T.T's scan, but it still looked like a sheer brick face. She reached out to touch it, only to find it had no substance. “Hologram...” She was impressed. She climbed through.

She was now on the second floor. There were no windows on this floor, so everything was dark as pitch. Kat stood up hesitantly. “Brighten things up for me a bit?”

Her eye-cam adjusted as K.I.T.T dropped the night vision filter. She could see the interior as clear as day.

The room was completely empty, except for a massive hole in the floor just a foot in front of her. Kat's eyes widened. “Good thing I checked first," she whispered, suddenly feeling faint.

This hole was her next obstacle. Splintered wood jutted out threateningly all around it. She wouldn't be able to just jump down without scratching herself pretty badly. Or worse.

She peered over the edge. “Scan the floor below. Is it solid?”

"The only thing under it is solid earth,” K.I.T.T replied. “Why?” He was starting to sound a little worried.

She looked around, then moved to one corner of the room, where the distance between the wall and the hole was the greatest. She had about ten feet to work with. She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “I can do this.”

“Do what?” K.I.T.T asked anxiously. “Kat, do what?”

She wasn't paying attention to him as she took a strong running start. She pushed off of the floor hard, right at the very edge of the hole, launching herself into the air. She turned over neatly in mid-air, then straightened out, falling fluidly through the exact center of the hole in the floor, avoiding the splinters of death completely.

She bent her knees as she landed one story below, absorbing the shock of the jump. Her legs felt like that they had been turned to jelly, but she had made it. She fell back onto her rear and took a moment to catch her breath, and calm her racing heart.

“How did you do that?” K.I.T.T asked her. There was actual disbelief in his voice. A first for him.

“You saw that?” Kat asked.

“Of course, I've been watching your progress the whole time. How did you do that?”

“Seven years of gymnastics?” Kat offered.

“I've never seen anyone do anything like that before,” K.I.T.T told her.

“You've obviously never seen the Olympics,” Kat told him.

“It was so...” He searched quickly for the right word. “Graceful.” He sounded like he was trying the word out for the first time. “I would never be capable of something like that.”

She couldn't help feeling a little flattered. “It would be a little impossible for you, wouldn't it?” She had caught her breath finally. She regained her feet and headed for the back door.

“Can you do it again?” K.I.T.T asked hopefully.

“Focus KITT, we're in the middle of a test.”

“Right, my apologies.”

Kat studied the door in front of her. “Is this one real?”

“Affirmative.”

“Okay, then what's wrong with it? Run a scan.” Kat frowned at the door. She wasn't going to be caught by any tricks at the final hour.

“The doorknob is wired to a live circuit,” K.I.T.T informed her, highlighting the knob and wiring in red.

Kat unzipped her black leather vest. Velcroed to the inside was a flat square zippered all the way around. She unzipped the compartment and pulled out a small, flat pair of wire cutters. She snipped the wires attached to the door jamb and the red light on her eye-cam went out.

“Anything else?”

“All threats have been neutralized,” K.I.T.T said. “Come on out.”

Kat opened the door. K.I.T.T. was waiting for her ten feet away, Driver's door open. She slid gratefully into the seat and they drove on. “What's our next challenge?”

“Navigating on-road obstacles,” K.I.T.T told her. And indeed, the road ahead of them was littered with various obstacles.

As they drove ahead, concrete walls rose high up on both sides. “So, it's 'through' then? No 'around'?” she asked.

“'Over' seems like an interesting option as well,” K.I.T.T remarked. Kat spotted a tower of junked cars at the end of the track. But that was the last obstacle. The first was the drawbridge.

It was up of course, and not on their side. A deep pit was carved under it. “Grappling hook, of course," Kat said.

K.I.T.T fired, hooking the top of the wooden drawbridge. Kat hit reverse and the drawbridge lowered. They then drove to the other side.

Next was the oil slick. Kat knew that it probably wasn't real oil. K.I.T.T could drive through most slippery conditions. Charles would have prepared something that K.I.T.T couldn't get past easily.

Kat thought for a moment. “Clear it with the water cannon.”

K.I.T.T's 'water cannon' was really a small nozzle. It shot water out under high pressure, using little water in the process. They cleared the road and he still had half a tank left. They drove on.

Next, there were large metal bars blocking their way. That one was too easy. “We could just ram it, but use the laser.”

K.I.T.T's laser sliced right through the bars easily, cutting them into several pieces. He didn't even slow down as he passed through the hole he had made. The remains of the bars hit his hood and bounced off without leaving a scratch.

Then they were approaching the pile of cars. Kat floored it, her finger over the Turbo Boost button. At just the right second, she hit the button. K.I.T.T's rear boosters launched them into the air. They cleared the tower just barely. K.I.T.T landed on the other side and turned to a halt.

They were in front of another building. “The finish line is here,” he told her.

“Good, we're done,” Kat said in relief.

“Not quite.”

“No, no, no. You said that the finish line was here, this building,” Kat said firmly. “We're here, we're done.”

“Kat, the finish line isn't down here. It's up there.” He highlighted the rooftop of the building on the side window.

Kat stared up three stories. The door and windows were all boarded up and blocked. There was no fire escape, nor any ladders. She felt her stomach drop down to her feet. “Don't tell me... ejector seat?”

“Good idea. I have wanted to test that out.”

Kat gave his modulator an exasperated look. “I'm not doing it.”

“Come on, you told me you used to fly all the time,” K.I.T.T retorted.

“That was in a jet,” Kat told him firmly. “I had a parachute.”

“It's only three stories.”

“Only?”

K.I.T.T retracted his top, letting bright daylight and frigid air flood in. He folded it easily into his trunk. He turned so he was facing the building.

“No,” Kat stated, crossing her arms. “I'm not doing it. You can't make me.”

“You're right, I can't make you. But you'll fail the test if you don't finish.”

“So? What happens if I fail? David fires me?” Kat asked, rolling her eyes.

“No, you just have to take it again.”

She thought for a long moment. “Okay, let's do this.”

“I knew you would see things my way,” K.I.T.T said smugly.

“I'm going to get you for this,” she warned darkly as she unbuckled her seat belt.

“Don't worry, I'll be gentle.”

“Seriously, if this goes wrong. I am so haunting you. Think 'Christine'.”

K.I.T.T waited silently. Kat took a few deep breaths. Her heart was trying to bash its way out of her ribcage. She put her hands over her face and groaned loudly. Then she dropped them to her sides. “Okay, ready,” she said quickly, before she could change her mind.

The seat under her bucked sharply, and she was airborne. Instinct took over and she turned in the air. She landed on the rooftop lightly.

She blinked in shock. That had been completely painless. “Still alive?” K.I.T.T asked in her ear.

She checked real quick, to be sure. “Heart's still beating, surprisingly.”

“I knew you could do it, when I saw that dive earlier,” K.I.T.T told her.

“That was one story, not three,” she reminded him. She lay on her back on the rooftop. The cold December air turned her breath foggy. She sighed heavily, watching as a great cloud erupted from her mouth. “Okay, tell me how to get down from here.”

“Down? What is this 'down' you speak of?” K.I.T.T asked.

"Oh, you think you're funny," Kat said sarcastically.

"Nonsense," K.I.T.T replied. "I know that I am funny."

"KITT, we've talked about you developing a sense of humor," Kat warned.

"Roger that, activating 'Mindless-Drone Mode'."

The corner of Kat's mouth twitched. She heard a sound to her right and turned. A hatch opened and Charles stepped out onto the roof. He wore a long black overcoat, and a red scarf. “Would you like to come in out of the cold now? We just have the 'Question and Answer' portion of the test left.”

She sat up. “That hardly sounds life threatening. Count me in.” She followed him down into the building.

 

********

 

“You did very well on the practical course. But, reviewing your mission notes...” Charles frowned. “Can you answer me one question?”

“Sure.” Kat nodded. She sat across a small table from him. He held a clipboard and pen in his hands.”

“So far, you have had two missions that required surveillance, why have you not used KITT's Cloaking System?” Charles asked in confusion.

Kat stared at him blankly for a second. K.I.T.T's Cloaking system...

The thing that made him invisible. It was one of the first things she had learned about him.

“I, uhm, I forgot about his Cloaking program...” she mumbled, her eyes on her hands, which were fidgeting.

Charles arched a brow. He didn't say anything and just made a note on his clipboard. Kat groaned inwardly.

The test only got worse from there.

 

********

 

When they were done, Charles escorted her down into Base2 proper. She studied the corridors with great interest. Here was where she could find information she needed.

Her brother had died here.

She had to find out how he had died. If she knew that, maybe she would figure out why he had died.

She memorized the general layout of the underground compound. Charles took her to a small cafeteria. They ate lunch together. Charles tried a few attempts at small talk, but Kat just couldn't pay attention. Her mind was utterly absorbed. How was she going to find the information she needed?

“Have you heard anything new from David?” she asked suddenly. She picked at the top of her hamburger bun. “About Sam?”

Charles didn't look surprised. He gave her a sympathetic look. “I know it doesn't seem like it, but David is doing everything he can to find out what happened.”

“Is there anything new?”

He shook his head. “I'm sorry, no.” Kat nodded. She had expected as much.

When they were done eating, Charles escorted her through the halls again. Kat noticed that they were going down different corridors than before.

They passed by a door that made Kat stop in her tracks. She turned slowly, looking back at it.

The door was covered entirely in clear plastic. Yellow tape crossed it.

Her heart began to pound in her chest. This was it, right here. Here was something, finally, she could feel it... She took a step toward the door.

“Are you coming?” Charles asked behind her.

She started, turning quickly. Charles was at the end of the hallway, looking back at her. She glanced back at the covered door and composed herself. “Yeah.” She followed him. She felt a pressure on the back of her neck, almost as if the door was staring at her. It eased up only after she had turned the corner.


	12. The Knight Before Christmas - Part 2

“I think that went well," K.I.T.T told her. They were heading back to the compound. Kat was driving. She took things slow, going at a sedate 60mph, which was practically old lady speed for K.I.T.T.

They were moving through Missouri now, heading back to New Mexico. The road they were on was enclosed on both sides by tall, snow-covered trees.

“I know I messed up on a few things,” Kat said ruefully.

“You'll see when you get your results. By the way, I think those deer just passed us.”

Kat rolled her eyes. “We can't try to break the sound barrier every time we drive,” she told him.

“No, but that is more fun,” K.I.T.T replied.

“I am having fun not having a heart attack. You had your fun through Indiana and Illinois."

“Fine, but I take over again in Oklahoma,” K.I.T.T said.

“Nuh uh, you got two states, so I get two states,” Kat argued.

“Indiana and Illinois were small states,” K.I.T.T countered.

“Only at the speed you were going. You're a highway cop's nightmare.”

“Thank you.”

“That wasn't a compliment.”

Suddenly the windshield turned bright red and the steering wheel locked in her hands. A warning siren sounded inside of the cab. 'Incoming Attack' flashed across the windshield.

Before she could react, something hit them from the side. Whatever it was exploded on collision, becoming a huge fireball that threw the car up into the air like a toy. K.I.T.T flipped over twice before coming down on his front bumper. Then he flipped onto his side and slid across the blacktop with an earsplitting screech for about a hundred feet before finally settling back onto his wheels.

The car had completely turned around, so Kat could see the raging inferno in the middle of the road where they were attacked. She was shaken, but unhurt. The trip through the air hadn't been fun for either the car or its occupant.

“Are you alright?” they asked each other at the same time. Kat's voice was high with panic, K.I.T.T's was merely concerned.

He turned away from the fire and sped down the road. “Initiating evasive programming. Buckle up.” Suddenly there were a lot more loose straps to her already buckled seatbelt. She busied herself with buckling them all, until she was in a kind of harness.

“What the hell was that?” Kat demanded.

“We were struck by a tactical missile of unknown make. Possibly custom in design. I didn't have enough time to run a complete scan,” K.I.T.T told her quickly. “It originated from approximately three miles north-northwest of here.”

“Why is someone attacking us?” she asked, more calmly. Her training was taking over. She put her hands back on the wheel as they shot down the road. Her reflexes still weren't fast enough to handle anything complicated, like turns, but as she drove more and more with K.I.T.T they were developing a way to drive together, with her controlling for the most part, and he correcting her as needed.

“Again, that is unknown. They obviously know who we are, and what I am capable of.”

Kat had to agree with that. People didn't normally shoot missiles at Camaros they didn't like. “Geez, who did we piss off?”

“Whoever it was, they are quite angry with us,” K.I.T.T told her. “They've set up a roadblock up ahead.”

The windshield zoomed in on the road ahead. About half a mile away there were two black vans turned to the side, blocking the entire road. Three men waited in front, rocket launchers at the ready.

Kat calculated the situation carefully. Trees were still crowded thick on both sides, and a sharp incline dropped off away from the road on the right. “No way to off-road it.” she said. “We'll have to jump.” She hit the Turbo Boost button. Blue fire erupted from Kit's rear bumper and the trees blurred.

The men on the left and the right both fired their rockets. The man in the middle stayed his hand. He watched them from behind dark glasses. K.I.T.T zoomed in on all three faces, committing them to his memory.

K.I.T.T dodged the two rockets. They exploded on either side of him and something clear splattered on the side windows and the hood. The force of the twin blasts nearly pushed them into the trees. They managed to get control just in time to make the jump. K.I.T.T angled the blue fire downward, and he shot into the air. They cleared the vans easily.

As they passed overhead, the man who had withheld his fire took action now. He fired his rocket right into K.I.T.T's underside. The explosion that followed completely engulfed the car in flames. They were pushed even higher into the air, flipping out of control. They fell back onto the road with an almighty crash.

K.I.T.T had managed to land on all four wheels. He drove away from the vans at max speed, swerving slightly in the beginning. Kat couldn't really see where they were going though, as every inch of the car's exterior seemed to be on fire. She supposed that the top could be clear, but she had no way to check.

“What was that they shot us with?” Kat asked.

“Those rockets were carrying a highly-concentrated combustible accelerant. It sprayed all over my exterior.”

“Can you put it out?” Kat asked in concern. “Drive fast enough to smother it?”

“Negative. Depriving it of oxygen will not put it out. As the fuel burns, it produces it's own oxygen. We will just have to wait until the fuel runs out.”

“How long are we going to be on fire?” Kat asked, her eyebrows shooting up. “That's going to cause attention.”

“I am using my GPS to stay on the back roads for now. This shouldn't last for more than half an hour." The concern in his voice was fading.

“Just stay out of the trees, we don't need to start a forest fire," Kat still felt uneasy, the interior of the car was lit bright orange by the fire that was just outside of the windows. One of which was only inches away from her. “Am I going to be okay in the meantime?” she asked. “I don't want to bake in here.”

“My Molecular-Bonded Shell can withstand temperatures much higher than this," he assured her. “Though if you feel a little warm, I won't be offended if you remove your clothing.”

Kat eyed his modulator. Had he been watching cheesy nighttime television behind her back? “No thank you, I'll just put up the AC,” she assured him.

“There is that as well,” K.I.T.T agreed. “I've informed Charles about the attack. He wants us back at the compound as soon as possible. He's taking a chopper and meeting us there.”

“Fine, you can drive the rest of the way back,” Kat granted him.

“He's also sent me your test results,” K.I.T.T displayed them on the windshield.

For just a second the recent attack, and the fact that they were currently on fire, flew out of her mind. She took one look at her score and her heart plummeted.

 

********

 

Hours later, Kat sat at one of the empty desks in the main lab. She had her arms folded in front of her and her head buried in them. She moaned dejectedly.

"You did very well, all things considered," K.I.T.T told her.

“I failed miserably, how is that doing 'very well'?” she asked, her voice muffled by her arms.

“I have a lot of complicated programs and systems,” K.I.T.T replied. “You've only had a couple of weeks to try and learn them all. I think you've done extremely well under the circumstances.”

“Stop trying to make me feel better," she muttered.

K.I.T.T was silent. The light on his hood flowed back and forth irritably.

Angela leaned over the railing on the walkway above them, a mug with a snowman on it in her hand. She sipped at it as she spotted Kat below. She went down the stairs and looked K.I.T.T over. The glossy black Camaro was now matte black with ash. “You get into a fight?”

“You should see the other guy," K.I.T.T told her.

Angela's eyebrows raised, but she didn't comment. She prodded Kat's shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Charles sent us her test scores,” K.I.T.T explained.

Angela took another sip of her cocoa. “That bad?”

“She got a 62.”

“KITT!” Kat wailed, lifting her head up and glaring at the Camaro.

But Angela was ecstatic. “Really? That's great!”

“That's what I told her," K.I.T.T said.

Angela leaned down so she could look at Kat's face. “Wanna know a secret?” Kat nodded. “Sam got a 54 on his first test.”

Kat's eyebrows raised. “He did?”

Angela nodded. “He told me himself.”

Kat straightened up. Her expression was wondering. “Sam, a 54? Sam?”

Angela nodded again. She put a hand on Kat's shoulder. “Sweetie, you've done really well in just a few weeks. No one is expecting you to know and remember all of KITT's functions right away. I bet Pierce doesn't even remember them all.” She looked into Kat's face. “You're doing a good job, really.”

Kat's troubled expression cleared. She looked immensely relieved. “I guess you're right. Thank you, Angela."

“How is it that when you tell her that, she believes you immediately, but when I do, she tells me to shut up?” K.I.T.T asked irritably.

Angela turned to him. “You're a guy. That automatically makes you untrustworthy.”

“Technically, I don't have a gender," he countered.

She shook her head. “You're still a guy where it counts.”

K.I.T.T was silent for a moment. “...I'm confused.”

But Kat was nodding. “No, she's right.”

Angela smiled and took another sip of her cocoa. She passed the mug to Kat. “Here, this'll perk you up.”

Kat took a sip. “That's good," she said, brightening. “What's in it?”

“Scotch.”

She passed the mug back to her with a small laugh. “Thanks.”

Angela grinned. “Anytime.”

Kat gave her a questioning look. “What are you doing down here anyway?”

“I came to annoy Pierce.” She looked over at his empty desk. “Where is he?”

“David punished him for disobeying orders on the last mission,” Kat told her. “It was all moot anyway, since the FBI was standing by, but he's still being punished.”

Angela's eyebrows raised. “Punished? How?”

Kat scowled. “David put him on vacation for a week, effective immediately.”

Angela cringed. “Pierce, not working? Ouch.” Kat nodded. “He'll be up in his room then. I'll go wish him a Happy Hanukkah.” She turned to go.

“Pierce is Jewish?” Kat asked.

“I have no idea," she answered as she headed for the metal staircase. “He told me he didn't celebrate Christmas, so I have been trying to guess since then.”

Charles came down the stairs after Angela had left. “Yes, KITT? I just got your email.”

“Angela and Kat are confusing me,” K.I.T.T told him irritably.

Charles nodded. “Women are often a confusing species.” He turned to Kat and smiled. “They do tend to use that to their advantage.”

If that had come from David, Kat would have been angry. Charles had a healthy dose of respect in his voice, so she let it slide. “I have no idea what you are talking about,”she said innocently, but ruined the facade when she grinned.

“Right now, we have a grave matter to discuss,” Charles reminded them. “That being: the identity of those who attacked you and KITT this morning.”

K.I.T.T 's hood and windshield were covered with soot, so he couldn't display anything. He sent the pictures of the three men up onto the big screen. The team had been working on discovering who the men were since they got back.

Kat stared up at the three men intently. “Do you recognize any of them?” Charles asked her.

“Not especially.” She shook her head.

“You don't sound so sure.” Charles said.

Kat's expression was puzzled. “It's strange... I feel like the middle one is familiar to me, but I know I have never seen that face before in my life.” She studied his black hair and square face closely. His black sunglasses hid his eyes completely. She shook her head again. “Nope, I don't know him.”

Kai and Rei walked up then. “K.I.T.T's scan showed that there is a possibility that this man has had reconstructive surgery,” Rei said.

“It could be possible that this man's target was not KITT, but Katherine,” Kai added.

Kat shivered. “I don't have any enemies.” She her upper arms with her hands.

“That you know of,” K.I.T.T pointed out.

“No.” She shook her head. “I would know if someone out there hated me this much. Trust me. They have to be after KITT, for whatever reasons.” She turned to Kai and Rei. “Have you found anything out on who they are?”

“The men to the left and right are well known mercenaries,” Kai said.

“Well known in underground circles, of course,” Rei added.

Kat nodded. “And the man in the middle?”

The twins shook their heads at the same time. “Nothing,” they said together.

Charles mused worriedly. “I dislike this situation more and more.” He looked at K.I.T.T. “I want you to be careful from now on. With your weapon's systems disabled, you are vulnerable.”

“Oh, I am not going to run away like that again.” Kat's hands clenched into fists. There was fire and venom in her voice. “The next time someone attacks us, we'll be ready. I'll learn Attack Mode if it kills me.”

“I'll try my best not to let it,” K.I.T.T assured her.

Kat was staring at Charles determinedly. He smiled at her wryly, then reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a thick book. “In that case, you had better start as soon as possible.”

Kat took the book from him grimly. “More reading. Yay.”

“Merry Christmas,” Charles said sadly.


	13. The Knight Before Christmas - Part 3

“ _Por amor de dios_!” Carmen exclaimed when she saw K.I.T.T. “KITT, what happened to you?”

“Missile,” K.I.T.T answered.

“Several,” Kat corrected, not looking up from her reading.

Carmen looked back and forth between them, her hands on her hips. “Okay. Bath. Now.” Her voice was stern.

K.I.T.T rolled silently off his circle and through a huge doorway behind Carmen's workstation. Kat looked up from her reading. She couldn't help but smile. “He's just like a little kid.”

Carmen waved her hand. “Nah, he likes it, it's fun. Come and help, you need some cheering up.”

Kat was already reading again. She shook her head. “No thank you, I really have to learn this-” She was interrupted as Carmen grabbed her by the back of her vest and hauled her out of her seat. The book slipped from her hands and fell onto the desk, snapping shut.

Carmen was a lot stronger than a woman a head and a half shorter than Kat had any right to be. Kat wondered what she was hiding under her coveralls. “When I say you need cheering up, you get cheered up, _comprende_?”

Kat tried struggling out of Carmen's grasp, but couldn't find a way to do so with dignity. “Uh... _si_?” she said weakly.

“That's right.” Carmen finally released her, allowing Kat to straighten up to her full height.

They were in a white-tiled room. Two large drains were set into the floor. K.I.T.T stood over them. Various hoses were hung up along one wall. “Huh...” Kat said in bemusement. “I would think that with KITT's budget, you'd have an automatic car wash here.”

“Please!” Carmen shook her head. “This is much more fun. And those automatic washers can never get a car fully clean.” She smiled grimly. “The best things are done by hand.” Kat raised an eyebrow at her.

Carmen unzipped the top half of her coveralls, revealing a black sports bra underneath. She shrugged her arms out of the sleeves and tied them around her waist. She reached up and tightened her ponytail. “Might want to take off that vest, and that special shirt Pierce gave you,” she told Kat.

Kat unzipped her vest. She pulled it off, and her shirt, leaving her dark green tank top. She left her dog tags on and stashed everything out of the way. Then she walked back over to Carmen. “Okay, what do I do?”

Carmen handed her a hose. “Soap first, of course. Get on the other side, we'll see if we can get this crud off him.”

Kat moved around to K.I.T.T's other side, near the Driver's door. She was amazed by how different Carmen looked under her coveralls. The baggy gray material hadn't given her much shape.

Carmen was extremely fit underneath. Tight, toned muscle stood out under her tanned skin. Her abs were well-defined on her flat stomach. Her breasts were high and firm.

Kat had to admit that she didn't cut so impressive a figure. She was tall, for one thing. That automatically put her on the thin side. She had muscle, but it was a wiry kind of strength. Her skin was a milky white that burned easily. With dark hair and dark eyes she was also the complete opposite of blond, blue-eyed Sam.

Kat wasn't one for self-esteem issues, she was just a pessimist. She knew she had her good points. She just didn't really go on about them much.

Soon, the two of them had K.I.T.T covered with white foam. Then they scrubbed him down. Kat noticed that Carmen was being extremely thorough, making sure that no trace of the soot was left.

Meanwhile, they had gathered a small audience by the door. A few of Carmen's mechanics were loitering, watching the two women work.

One of them was tall and tanned like Carmen. He had dark eyes that had that smoldering look to them that made women weak. His black hair was chin-length and curly. It always had a wet look to it as well. He wore the standard gray coveralls. A tag on his chest read 'Enrique'.

The small group was growing slightly larger as two of Pierce's technicians joined the mechanics. Kai was one of them. Rei frowned at him from her desk.

They watched as Carmen turned the water hose on Kat, who shrieked indignantly. A full-blown water fight ensued. Enrique turned to Kai. “It's a shame Pierce isn't allowed down here.” He grinned, showing off a set of brilliantly white teeth.

“Such a shame,” Kai agreed, not taking his eyes off of the two women.

A young man joined them. He peered around the group, trying to see what they were all staring at. Enrique glanced over at him. This guy was new.

The young man caught Enrique's glance. “Uhm... Hello,” he said a little nervously. “My name's Ian. I'm new here. I work for Pierce. Do you know where he is?”

“He'll be up in his quarters,” Enrique said, then turned back to Kat and Carmen.

The other mechanics and technicians slowly drifted back to their work, leaving Enrique and Ian there. “I guess I'll go find him...” Ian said distantly. He didn't move though, as he had caught sight of the water fight.

Enrique glanced at him again. He straightened up to his full height, which was considerably taller than that of the young man. “You know that's my _Tia_ you're ogling,” he said roughly.

Ian nearly jumped. “Oh, I'm sorry,” he said. “I didn't mean to stare at your girlfriend,” he mumbled nervously.

Enrique frowned at him. He had his arms crossed over his chest. “ _Tia_ means 'Aunt'.”

Ian looked incredibly nervous. “Sorry again,” he said. He took a step back, as if he feared violence on Enrique's part.

Enrique stared at him for a moment. Then his face broke out into a grin. “Welcome aboard, Ian,” he said, slapping Ian on the back.

Ian coughed a bit from the force of Enrique's blow. “Thanks,” he croaked. He relaxed a bit. “So, that's KITT, huh?” He nodded to the Camaro. His eyes had a longing in them that was not unlike how he looked at Carmen and Kat.

“Si,” Enrique answered. He gave Ian a bemused look. “You just start today?”

Ian shook his head. “I started last week, but Pierce wouldn't let me in the main lab. I finished the work he gave me, and when he didn't come back to pile more on me, I went to look for him.” He looked around. “When do I get to meet KITT's Driver? I bet he's such a badass.”

Enrique chuckled. “She's right there.” He pointed at Kat.

Kat was soaked at this point. She pushed her wet hair out of her face, laughing. Ian stared at her, his mouth falling open. “Wow...” he breathed. “This is the best job ever.”

Enrique looked amused. He patted Ian on the shoulder. “I gotta get back to work, seeya around.”

“Okay, enough playing around,” Kat told Carmen. She was grinning. “I really do have to get back to work, let's finish up.”

“Fine.” Carmen was smiling too, she was also soaked.

Kat turned her hose back on K.I.T.T. “You've been quiet, for a change.” she commented.

“I've been listening to the radio. They are playing Christmas songs and I wanted to know more about what Christmas was. I was confused by the Wikipedia article.”

“Oh really? What are you listening to now?” Kat asked.

'Santa Baby' filled the tile room. Kat and Carmen laughed. “You're not going to find out much about Christmas from that song,” Carmen told him.

“Try John Lennon's 'So This is Christmas',” Kat told him. “That's the kind of schmaltz Christmas is about.”

“Hey, I like that song,” Carmen said defensively.

“I do too, but that doesn't mean it's not schmaltz.” Kat went back to hosing soap off of K.I.T.T. “Just wait till later on, KITT, you'll get to watch us strange humans set a plastic tree ablaze.”

One spot wasn't come clean. She ran the hose over it again. When it remained, she bent her head close and peered at it. She blinked in surprise. She ran two fingers over the large spot eaten into K.I.T.T's black paint.

She directed the hose all down his side, revealing more missing paint. How had that happened? During the attack? They had scraped up the highway pretty good, but there were no scratch marks on K.I.T.T, just these irregular spots of paint missing. Had the fire eaten away at it?

If she remembered her reading correctly, K.I.T.T's layering from the bottom up went : Molecular-Bonded Shell, coat of glossy black paint, nano-skin. The nano-skin should have protected the paint from the fire, unless...

“Carmen.” Kat leaned over K.I.T.T's hood to talk low to the other woman.

Carmen looked at her and turned off her hose. “Yeah?”

“Is KITT's nano-skin weak to fire?” Kat whispered anxiously.

Carmen nodded. “It's fine though, I'll repaint him and redo the skin. He'll be all right. His shell can stand up to fire pretty well.”

Kat frowned worriedly. She didn't like thinking of K.I.T.T as vulnerable. She rubbed a spot on his hood where the paint had been burned away.

“Your sentiment is touching, but unnecessary,” K.I.T.T said in an amused voice. “Carmen is right, I'll be fine.”

“I guess so. If this is the worst that comes out of a scrape with four missiles.” She sighed heavily. “I have work to do, I'm going to go get changed.” She gathered up her things and exited the tiled room.

She swept past Ian without even noticing him and headed up the metal staircase. Before she could pass David's office, the door opened and he stepped out. Kat stopped in her tracks. Great.

He was typing something on his Blackberry. She waited for him to pass so she could go up to her quarters. She wanted to get into some dry clothes. He glanced at her briefly, then did a double-take. He frowned disapprovingly at her chest. “Those have to go,” he told her.

Kat's eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”

He walked up to her and took her dog tags in his hand. “These, you should not be wearing them.”

She took a step back, but he just pulled them over her head. “Give those back!” she said indignantly.

He held them up. “This is not who you are anymore,” he said sternly. “What is the point in creating a new identity for you if you are going to wear something like this and disregard it?”

Kat gritted her teeth. Her dog tags were a part of her. They were a link to her old life. A life she had given up.

"You're such an ass,” she said acidly. She marched past him and out of the main lab.

He stared after her, then looked at the dog tags in his hand, scowling. He shoved them in his pocket and walked down to Charles' office.

 

********

 

Katherine changed into a pair of jeans and a red turtleneck. The clothes that had been provided for her fit her perfectly fine. The problem with them was that they were all new. She missed her worn, thirteen-year-old jeans that had been washed so many times they were nearly white and felt like silk when she slipped them on.

Angela was in the room, rooting through a box of what looked like red and gold tinsel. “I'm decorating the kitchen and rec room,” she told Kat. She pulled something out of the box. “Here take this, I only have the one left.”

Kat reached out and took it automatically. She turned it over in her hand. It was a bundle of dried mistletoe and holly tied up with a ribbon. “What do I need this for?” she asked Angela with a smile.

“Luck,” Angela said simply.

Kat gave her a dubious look . “Luck?”

She gave her an expectant look in return. Kat laughed. “I don't think I will be getting lucky for Christmas,” she told her.

Angela shrugged. “Keep it anyway, I'm sure you'll find a use for it.” She went back to her rummaging

“If you say so,” Kat said, though she was amused. She looked at the mistletoe and holly and felt a sudden pang in her chest. She left quickly before Angela could notice the change in her expression.

 

*******

 

Kat returned to the main lab. She grabbed her book off of the desk and walked over to K.I.T.T. The smell of car paint was in the air. “Open up,” she told him, not wanting to touch him in case he was still wet.

He opened his door for her and she slipped into the driver's seat. “I really need to get through this as soon as possible,” she said, holding up the book. “Make sure no one bothers me.”

“Am I allowed to use my grappling hook on anyone that tries?”

“If you have to.”

Kat looked down at the mistletoe and holly that was still in her hand. Impulsively, she reached up and tied it to K.I.T.T's rear view mirror. “What is the purpose of that?” K.I.T.T asked her.

“Maybe you'll get lucky,” Kat shrugged, smiling a little. “Can't hurt, can it?”

“I suppose not.” K.I.T.T sounded bemused.

Kat searched for her place in the book and fell into reading at once.


	14. The Knight Before Christmas - Part 4

F.L.A.G Underground Facility

"Kat, David is outside,” K.I.T.T informed her.

Kat didn't even glance up. “Use the grappling hook.”

“He's here to authorize and unlock my Attack Mode.”

She mumbled something incoherent. “He has to come inside?”

“Technically he could interact with my exterior, but he needs to give you your instructions as well.”

“Fine,” she said testily. “Open the door.”

K.I.T.T opened the passenger door and David slid inside. “Initiate Unlocking Protocol,” he said before he was fully seated. He looked like he wanted to be there about as much as Kat wanted him there.

A panel fired up on each of K.I.T.T's side windows. “Place your hand on there, and tell Three Thousand to disable its Safety Mode,” David instructed.

Kat looked puzzled. “Safety Mode?” There had been a vague reference to that in Pierce's book.

David sighed. “In order for me to authorize Attack Mode, you have to disable Three Thousand's safety features. As the Driver, you are the only one who can disable it. I am the only one who can authorize Attack Mode, but I need you to allow me to,” he explained impatiently.

Kat understood what he was saying. There was a kind of checks and balances system when it came to K.I.T.T. This way David couldn't just disable K.I.T.T's safety features on his own, and Katherine couldn't turn on Attack Mode whenever she pleased and go on a rampage somewhere. And no one else could activate Attack Mode either.

Kat placed her hand on the window. A red line swept over her hand and her picture appeared next to it. “Uh... KITT, disable Safety Mode.”

“Safety Mode disabled,” K.I.T.T said tonelessly. Kat remembered what K.I.T.T had told her, that David didn't like it when he talked.

Kat looked around, but there was no apparent sign that K.I.T.T's safety features had been disabled. Kat wondered if anyone would be able to open K.I.T.T's doors right now.

She also wondered if she should remove her hand from the window, she was starting to feel a little silly. She decided to wait until David said something.

David placed his hand on the window. K.I.T.T scanned his hand as well, and a picture of him appeared next to it. “Unlock Attack Mode, Authorization number: 697-493-756-839-6386.” As he recited the numbers easily from memory, they appeared above his hand. When he was finished, they all glowed green.

“Attack Mode Enabled,” K.I.T.T said.

David removed his hand and turned back to her. “Enable Safety Mode,” he told her.

“KITT, Enable Safety Mode.” Her hand was scanned again.

“Safety Mode Enabled,” K.I.T.T replied. He reopened the passenger door so David could get out.

David paused, having noticed the mistletoe and holly attached to K.I.T.T's mirror. He was frowning at it. Kat was suddenly worried he would tear it off. “Is mistletoe illegal now?” she asked him harshly.

He shrugged. “No.” He exited the Camaro.

“Good riddance,” Kat mumbled as K.I.T.T closed the door. She leaned back in her seat and groaned. She tossed the book aside in disgust. Her brain felt too full to stuff anything else into it right now.

There was just so much crowding her mind, both important and annoying. There was what happened to Sam, the attack from earlier, learning Attack Mode. If that wasn't enough, there was also David's attitude, and...

Kat eyed the mistletoe, feeling that pang in her chest. Oh yeah, that too.

“You look a bit dejected,” K.I.T.T commented.

“I think I'm just lonely,” Kat told him. She sounded grumpy.

“There are twenty-seven people working in the compound.”

Kat shook her head. “I don't think I can explain it to you.” She groaned again. “I miss Daniel.”

“That name is unfamiliar, so I will assume you mean someone from your former existence.”

“I think Daniel was my boyfriend,” Kat said.

“You're not sure?” K.I.T.T sounded confused.

“Well, we didn't really see each other all that much, he just came by whenever-” Kat paused, glancing at K.I.T.T's Modulator. “just every now and then. I'm not even sure if it's him I miss, or... just someone.” She exhaled in a big gust and scowled. “Dammit, holidays always bring this sentimental crap out in me.”

“Would it help if I told you that I understood?”

Kat nearly laughed. “I don't think you can understand.”

“Your exact circumstances are a mystery to me, yes, but would it help you if I told you that I know what loneliness is like?”

She sat up a little straighter, frowning. “KITT, you are surrounded by people who absolutely adore you, who think you are the most awesome thing that has ever existed. You are the most spoiled car in the entire world. How would you know about loneliness?”

K.I.T.T was silent. All of the lights on his dash, the windshield, even the overhead lights, went out. He blacked all of the windows, plunging his interior into darkness.

Kat felt her skin crawl at the sudden blackness. Her senses were immediately ultra alert. Her eyes and ears were desperately trying to sense something. “KITT?” she said softly. Had she offended him?

“When I woke up for the very first time, I didn't appreciate being aware. I was busy calculating every infinitesimal thing about my environment, inside and outside of my body. I realized that there was a difference to being aware and unaware. That before I was unaware, and now I am aware. There was too much for me to learn, I needed to stay aware to learn it all. My first decisive action was to prevent myself from becoming unaware again.”

“What do you mean?” Kat asked. She was a little weirded out by all of this. Okay, a lot weirded out.

"My CPU Core runs on its own power system, a generator. It only needs that first spark of electricity to activate it, then it can run for three years without needing any outside power. When I am shut down, there is a switch in my programming that shuts down my CPU Core as well. The first thing I did was disable that switch.”

“How were you able to do that?” Kat asked. She was entranced by the car's story. He had never told her anything like this before, something about himself, about the way he thought and perceived the world around him.

“There was never anything implemented in my programming to stop me,” K.I.T.T answered. “It has never occurred to Charles that I could or would do that. Even now, he doesn't know. My systems can all be shut down, but my CPU Core is always aware.”

K.I.T.T went on. “Before I met Sam, I was only active for hours at a time. The rest of the time, I was confined in Charles' lab. I couldn't interact with any of my functions, or even sense anything that happened to my body. I was completely cut off from myself.”

Kat understood the darkness now. This had been K.I.T.T's whole world. Not connected to anything, unable to see, hear, or speak. A brilliant, super fast AI with nothing but its own processes to keep it occupied. She shivered.

The lights immediately came back on and the windows turned clear again. Light flooded the interior. “I didn't meant to frighten you,” K.I.T.T said at once. “I just wanted to show you that I understand something about loneliness.” He sounded like he had done something wrong.

“I'm fine,” she said a little shakily. “I wasn't scared. I was just thinking... about how that must have felt to you.”

“I don't feel things the way you do,” K.I.T.T told her. “I wasn't afraid, or anxious, or troubled. I was just by myself.”

Kat nodded. “Yeah. How come you never told Charles or Pierce about this?”

“Why would I?”

Kat gave his modulator a sympathetic look. “It's something they would want to know.”

“They've never asked anything regarding it.”

“That's because they don't realize that they should.”

K.I.T.T was silent for a brief moment. “I'll send Charles an email.”

“Wait.” Kat stopped him. “Not like that. Later on, after we've settled things with whoever attacked us. Charles has enough to worry about right now.”

“All right then. I'll save the draft to memory.” Of course it had only taken him seconds to draft an email.

Kat's mind went back to earlier that day. So much was happening all at once, and now people were randomly shooting them with missiles and rockets.

She could only puzzle over who would attack K.I.T.T. Other than having some pretty mean weapons and organizational skills, they didn't seem exceptional. They hadn't followed K.I.T.T after they set him on fire. Then again, few things could catch K.I.T.T when he wanted to get away.

How had they found them in the first place? To all outward appearances, K.I.T.T was just a Camaro, as long as he wasn't doing something like jumping vans or going into Pursuit Mode. A really nice, flashy Camaro, but nothing more than that appearance wise.

Kat had just taken the fastest route back to F.L.A.G. How had they known she would be there when she hadn't even known herself until she had plotted out the route on the GPS? And that was right after they left Base2...

Ice settled in her stomach. Her eyes widened. “I'm an idiot!” she exclaimed.

“Kat, what-”

“Don't you see?” she said quickly, talking over K.I.T.T. “The ones that attacked us are the same ones that killed Sam!”

K.I.T.T thought that over briefly. “It's probable, but we don't know that for certain.”

Kat was sure, it made so much sense now. “They do have a grudge against me! Someone is after your drivers, KITT. I need another reason to go back to Base2. There is something there. They must have left something behind.”

“Well, you do have to take the test again,” K.I.T.T reminded her. That was the good thing about K.I.T.T. He rolled with the punches pretty well.

“I need to be by myself though. That way I can check out that sealed up room. I think that's where Sam died. I mean, why else would it be sealed off like that?” She thought for a moment. “Do you know what kind of authorization I need to get into Base2?”

“As a level E employee of Knight Industries, you do not need any authorization,” K.I.T.T told her. “You are allowed at Base2 at any time. The security is more lax there than it is here.”

Kat nodded. “That's probably why they went after him there. There is no way they would have been able to get to Sam here. David watches everyone like a hawk.”

“You do, however, need David's permission to leave the facility with me,” K.I.T.T continued, as if Kat hadn't spoken over him.

She leaned back and mused for a bit. “I wonder if Charles has a car I can borrow...”

The circle K.I.T.T stood on lowered into the floor. Kat straightened up in her seat. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

“Do you really think I am going to just let you drive around in some inferior car? Especially if someone is trying to kill you?” K.I.T.T asked her. “You have no choice but to steal me.”

Kat laughed grimly. “Can one kidnap the willing?” she asked him. “You want to leave right now?”

“David is not at the facility at the moment.”

“So... perfect time to do some snooping around?”

“You said it, not me.”

She laughed again, taking the wheel. “Okay fine. KITT, I'm stealing you and running off to Base2 to find out what happened to Sam.”

“Gasp,” K.I.T.T said dully. “I had not foreseen such mutiny in you, Katherine. I have no choice but to obey. You are my Driver, after all.”

Kat shook her head. “How much did my brother corrupt you in the six months he spent with you?”

“I learned a few things,” K.I.T.T hedged. “I miss Sam too, you know.”

She nodded. “You want to find out what happened as much as I do.”

“Given that your theory is true, there is a seventy-five percent chance we will be attacked again,” K.I.T.T told her.

“Don't worry, I'll protect you,” Kat told him easily.

The light on the modulator flared indignantly but K.I.T.T, for once, didn't have a retort.

 

********

 

K.I.T.T had been right. It was ridiculously easy to get into Base2. She just showed the front desk the ID Card she had gotten from Charles and she was in.

Kat sprinted down the halls. She turned a corner and saw two men walking in her direction. She slowed down to a walk, trying to keep calm while she passed them. They were talking and didn't pay much attention to her. She picked up speed again when she rounded the next corner.

She wandered down a few more hallways, but by this time she was hopelessly turned around. “God dammit, where is it?”

“If you are talking about the sealed off room, take a left at the end of the hallway,” K.I.T.T said in her ear.

She stopped in her tracks. “You've known where it was this whole time?” she asked in disbelief.

“Of course. I saw it when you did.”

“Why didn't you tell me?” she asked as she continued down the hall. “And don't say because I didn't ask!”

“You didn't,” K.I.T.T said irritably. “I thought you knew where it was.”

Kat turned the corner and spotted the door. She ran over to it. She stood in front of it, and paused to catch her breath.

She inhaled deeply and calmed herself. Her heart was beating a tattoo against her ribcage. She reached one hand out for the covered doorknob.

“I knew you were going to end up here eventually.”

She whirled around. Her heart jumped up into her throat and she made a strangled gasping noise.

David was leaning against the wall behind her, his hands in his pants pockets. His dark eyes were disapproving. His face was hard, cold.

Kat said the first thing that came to her. “Where the hell did you come from?”

David pushed against the wall, straightening up. He nodded to the door on his right. “I've been waiting here for a bit. Ever since Charles took you past this door I knew you would come back. He did that on purpose, you know.”

“Charles wants to help me.” Her eyes narrowed. “He knows that I want to find out what happened to Sam. This is where he died, isn't it?”

“Knowing what happened to your brother will not help you,” he told her. His voice had a venomous edge to it. “The only thing that can help you is leaving right now.”

Kat stood her ground. “Whatever it is behind that door, I can take it,” she said firmly. “I want to know the truth.”

David was getting angry, his voice rose. “Going into that room will not help you find any sort of truth! You think I am hiding something from you, but what you don't understand is that there is nothing to hide! The only thing in there is a dead end!”

“It's the only thing I have to go on,” she told him firmly.

David looked like he was contemplating physical violence. He managed to get control of himself. “This is not your job,” he told her sternly. “Your job is to go through the Missions. My job is to look after my employees.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. Ice edged her voice. “Not doing a very good job of that, are you?”

His hand gripped into a fist. He breathed in sharply through his nose. “Fine,” he said tightly. “Go ahead. Look.” He walked past her, over to the door and ripped the yellow tape off. He reached for the knob and opened the door. It swung inwards. He gestured for her to turn and look.

Kat turned slowly, not sure what to expect. She had never expected anything like what she saw.

The room was normal enough, if a little small. A bed against one wall, a desk opposite it. There was a TV mounted on the wall. The walls were a light gray and the floor was blue linoleum.

Dark brown stains covered everything.

Kat drew in a sharp breath, her eyes widening. She took a step forward, into the room. David put an arm out, barring her way. “I'm trying to preserve evidence, no one enters this room,” he said quietly, watching her expression intently.

Kat tore her eyes away from the grisly scene with difficulty. “What happened to him?” she asked. “How did this happen? How could you possibly say that this was an accident?”

“I told everyone it was an accident because I don't know what went on in this room. I do not know what happened here,” he said severely. “The Team needs to focus on their work, not unanswered questions.”

“How do you not know what happened?” she demanded.

“Sam's killer wasn't thoughtful enough to leave a body behind,” he replied frostily. “Or evidence.”

Kat was taken by surprise. “There's no body?” she asked. “Then how do you know that Sam's dead?” She was feeling angry again. “He could be alive somewhere, trapped and hurt!”

“Are you blind?” David looked at her like she was simple. He pointed back into the room. “Have you seen the floor, the bed, the desk, the walls, the ceiling? No one loses that much blood and lives.”

She was shaking her head. “It could be a trick of some kind, diluting the blood with plasma-”

“And you don't think I have thought of that? That was the first thing we checked for.”

“Someone could have been bleeding him out for weeks, or months before kidnapping him.” Kat tried again. “If they drugged him and did it while he was asleep, he wouldn't even notice.”

David rubbed the bridge of his nose as if he was in pain. “Sam was only here for two days. The rest of the time, he was back at the compound, sharing a room with Pierce. When was anyone supposed to have stolen his blood?”

That stopped her. He dropped his hand and gave her a questioning look. “I don't know,” she said. “There has to be some way…”

“He's dead, Katherine.” There was no remorse in his eyes, just bare fact. “No one knows how it happened, or why. Nothing on the cameras, no blood in the hallway, no evidence anywhere. I have personally questioned every single employee working here, no one saw anything. The only thing that is certain is that Samuel Long is dead.”

Kat inhaled sharply. Her chest felt tight, like it was being squeezed. She stood there and stared at David blankly.

He sighed heavily. “Go take Three Thousand back to the compound before I suspend you for stealing it.”

Kat took a step away from the door. David closed it. He hadn't slammed it, but the sound still echoed sharply down the empty hall. She flinched at the sound.

David escorted her back to K.I.T.T. K.I.T.T opened the Driver's door automatically and Kat slid into the seat. David held onto the door before it could close. She looked up at him.

“If you ever do anything like this again, if you even step out of line once, I am giving the both of you a week's suspension,” he warned gravely, his tone deceptively soft. “Total separation, do you understand me? Your implant will be deactivated. No driving, no communicating in any way.”

Kat nodded. “I understand,” she said quietly. David shut the door and stalked back into the building.


	15. The Knight Before Christmas - Part 5

Kat sat numbly in the Driver's seat and stared blankly at the steering wheel. She closed her eyes, but Sam's room was plastered on the other side of her eyelids.

Meanwhile, K.I.T.T pulled out of the parking lot. “Seatbelt,” he reminded her.

She opened her eyes and slowly buckled her seatbelt. A screen flared up on the windshield. It was Sam's room again, exactly as she had seen it. “What are you doing, KITT?” she asked dully.

“Analyzing the room,” K.I.T.T replied. “I thought you would want to do that together.”

She looked at the picture for a long moment. The corners of her eyes pricked, like she wanted to cry, but didn't have any tears. “Is David right?” she asked. “Is there no chance that Sam is alive?”

“If Sam really did lose the amount of blood shown here, then he is dead,” K.I.T.T told her.

“Can you think of a way that someone could have faked his death?”

“Negative, I don't have any reference for that kind of situation.” He moved out onto the highway, driving at the usual breakneck speed. It was nighttime, but there was still plenty of traffic.

Kat glanced at the speedometer. “KITT, slow down. You're going to kill someone.”

“The chance of me hitting someone is highly unlikely,” he retorted, but slowed down.

“Not everyone's reflexes are as good as yours,” she reminded him. “And there are a lot of nuts out on the roads.” She put her hands on the wheel. “I'll take over for a bit. I need something to do.”

As she drove, she eyed the display of Sam's room every now and then, which K.I.T.T had left up. He indicated, for her benefit, what parts he was analyzing by zooming in on some detail or other. “Find anything of interest?”

“Negative,” K.I.T.T said. “I can find no physical evidence. No footprints in the blood. No hair or clothing fibers that are visible from the angle you were at. No signs of a struggle. Nothing is out of place.”

Kat frowned. There was something odd about what K.I.T.T had said. She glanced at the picture again. Under the blood, everything seemed perfectly fine. And yet, incredibly wrong at the same time.

“It's too neat,” she said suddenly. “That room doesn't look lived in. Especially for Sam. Even if he'd only been there two days, the bed should at least look rumpled. He never bothers making it.”

“Sam was never very tidy,” K.I.T.T agreed. Kat wondered how many empty soda cans and gum wrappers had been excavated out of K.I.T.T by Carmen over the course of six months.

“David might not pick up on that either, if he doesn't know Sam's personal habits,” she said. “Which, I don't think he's the type to take the time.” She was getting excited again. Here was something... “What does it mean though?”

“Something,” K.I.T.T said unhelpfully. Kat shot an exasperated look at the stereo that housed his Modulator.

A van ahead of them was going below the speed limit, which to K.I.T.T would be 'unbearably slow'. Kat tried to maneuver around it, but found a red coupe in her way on the right. She looked to the left. A black sedan was next to her, driving so close it was in danger of entering her lane. She looked to the right again, the coupe was edging closer as well.

“KITT, something tells me we're about to get attacked again,” she said. She checked the rear view mirror. Another van was right on their rear bumper. Great, they weren't getting out of this without taking someone with them.

K.I.T.T scanned the four vehicles, displaying the data on his windshield. He closed the display of Sam's room for space. The two vans only had one driver each. There was a passenger and a driver in both of the smaller cars.

“Options,” Kat said tensely as the windows of the cars on either side of her rolled down. “EMPulse?”

“If we take out the front van, we'll crash into it,” K.I.T.T replied.

“You can't take out one of the side cars?” she asked quickly. She glanced at the cars nervously.

“My EMPulse is on my hood.”

Kat swore. She glanced right and left. From each of the cars on either side of them, some sort of weapon was poking out of the open windows. Kat knew that bullets would have no effect on K.I.T.T's Molecular-Bonded Shell. That was if they got through the nano-skin, but these weapons didn't look like they shot bullets.

“I don't like the looks of this,” she said. “I'm sorry KITT, we'll have to cause an accident.” She turned into the red coupe, smashing into its side. K.I.T.T was, of course, unharmed, but the ordinary metal of the coupe crumpled like paper.

Both weapons fired. Something shot from the barrel of each and attached to K.I.T.T. A wire trailed from each projectile, back to the guns. Kat pushed the red coupe aside, right off the highway. The wire connecting them snapped.

Suddenly, the wheel in her hands jerked and K.I.T.T swerved wildly. She struggled with it, but couldn't bring it back under control. “KITT! What's happening?”

K.I.T.T answered her, but in no way that was coherent. It all came out as a jumbled mess. Kat's eyes widened as she watched his Modulator go crazy.

The Camaro swerved wildly again, just narrowly missing a silver SUV in the other lane. Kat gripped the wheel as hard as she could, turning it in the other direction. She jammed her foot on the brakes, but they didn't respond.

Screens began popping up on K.I.T.T's windshield, but they were just filled with random numbers and letters. “KITT! Get a hold of yourself!”

The Camaro shot forward, away from the vans and the remaining car. The second wire snapped, but K.I.T.T was still unresponsive. They were weaving erratically through traffic that was going much slower than they were.

“KITT! Stop!” Kat yelled as she struggled with the wheel. They missed hitting a convertible by a hair.

K.I.T.T responded with a string of random numbers, spoken extremely fast. Then there was a high pitched squeal that reverberated in her ears, making her hunch over and gasp in pain. Darkness swam over her eyes and she fainted.

K.I.T.T drove off of the highway and abruptly shut down. The noise ceased.

 

********

 

Kat's heart was beating frantically. Her ears rang. She shook her head, trying to clear it. What the hell had just happened?

There was a dull pounding in her head. She opened her eyes slowly. Had she passed out? For how long?

Movement to her left startled her. She jumped, turning to it.

The pounding hadn't been coming from her head. Someone was on the other side of K.I.T.T's door, going at the window with a sledgehammer. Kat recognized one of the mercenaries from earlier that day.

She stared at him for a second, but he might as well have been using a paper fan for all the damage he was doing, or not doing, to the window.

Kat regained control of herself. “KITT?” she asked. The dash was dark and unresponsive. “KITT!” She smacked her hand down on top of the dash, but there was still no response. The interior remained dark.

She took in her surroundings. She was about fifty yards away from the highway, and any help it might offer. One of the black vans was parked next to her, hiding K.I.T.T from the road.

The other black van pulled up about twenty feet in front of her. The back doors opened and two men jumped out. Probably the ones from the red coupe K.I.T.T had disabled. The driver's door opened, and the unknown man from earlier stepped out.

Kat felt a shiver go down her spine just looking at him. He was tall and broad and dressed all in black. Black jeans, shirt, and a leather jacket. Even his gloves were black leather. His pale, square face was unemotional, his eyes shadowed behind his black sunglasses. She found it odd that he wore them even though it was the dead of night.

The man walked over. He was saying something to the mercenary with the sledgehammer. The merc put down the hammer and stepped away from the door. The man continued talking as he walked up to the door. He put one gloved hand on the handle and opened it easily.

Kat's eyes widened in shock. She undid her seatbelt quickly and scrambled backwards to the other seat. “I didn't know it was unlocked,” the merc muttered as he stepped forward to grab Kat.

Kat didn't follow the rules of the Damsels-in-Distress very well. She kicked at the man hard. Her boot connected solidly with his face and he reeled back, stumbling away from the car.

The door behind her opened then and she was dragged out of K.I.T.T by the other two men from the van. She fought back violently. She kicked one of the men in the groin and he doubled over in pain. The other man had her from behind. She thrust her head back, into his face. His grip on her arms slackened and she ran for it.

She knew that she had only caught them by surprise. They had underestimated her, seeing her as weaker because she was a driver, or because she was a woman. She was going to take what advantages she could.

A loud ping! Came from behind and her left leg buckled. She fell to the ground hard. Fiery pain shot down her leg. She clutched at it, gasping. She looked down at it and saw thick, warm blood flowing out of the wound in her thigh and over her hand.

The man in black walked over to her calmly, gun drawn. She scrambled back, trying to get to her feet. Her leg wouldn't support her weight. She slipped and fell on her back.

The man was standing right over her. His three companions had recovered by now. One of them ran over. He grabbed Kat roughly by the arm. Panic had set in and she fought back desperately as adrenaline flooded her veins. She shoved the heel of her hand into the man's nose. The other two mercenaries came over to help.

They overpowered her and she found herself lying face first on the ground. One of the men held her arms behind her, one knee pressed into her back, keeping her pinned as she screamed and fought. She felt something cold and hard press against the back of her head.

It was the dead of the night, as dark as pitch. She was too far from the highway for anyone to see or hear her. There was no one who could help...

She was dead.


	16. The Knight Before Christmas - Part 6

**Knight Rider 2008 Alternate Storyline – Episode 4 – The Knight Before Christmas II**

**Chapter 1**

It was the dead of the night, as dark as pitch. She was too far from the highway for anyone to see or hear her. There was no one who could help...

She was dead.

She squeezed her eyes shut. She gritted her teeth. Her whole body tightened, anticipating the gunshot.

A roaring filled her ears. Her heart was beating so hard it felt like it would burst. It only took a second.

Then all hell broke loose.

The roaring became louder, like the snarling of an engine going full throttle. The two men not directly busy with killing her moved away. One shouted. “Hey!”

Why wasn't she dead yet? Why hadn't the man pulled the trigger? What was going on?

“Close your eyes,” a voice said in her ear.

“They're already closed,” she gasped. She scrunched them tighter anyway.

Suddenly, there was a blinding light bleeding red between her eyelids. It pulsed rapidly and erratically. It was too quick, too much, it overloaded her senses. She felt sick.

Something heavy fell to the ground next to her and the pressure holding her down was gone. The red light disappeared. Without thinking, she scrambled away, crawling along the ground as quickly as she could.

The world tipped and spun. She was extremely disoriented. Where was she going? She was going to get shot like this. She got to her feet and limped forward, lurching from side to side.

A large shape stopped in front of her. If only everything would stop moving, she could figure out what it was. She reached out. Her fingers found cool, sleek metal. “KITT!” she sobbed in relief.

“Get in,” K.I.T.T told her impatiently. “They'll recover in another minute.”

Kat fell forward, into the Driver's seat. She pulled her legs in after her. K.I.T.T closed the door and peeled off. His GPS was malfunctioning, so he didn't know where he was going. He drove up onto the highway as he tried to contact F.L.A.G.

There was no response from F.L.A.G. His communications were disabled as well.

He zoomed silently down the highway, weaving through the cars effortlessly. At least his automatic steering was still working. He zoomed in on the large green sign up ahead. They were on the I74. He would follow it as far southwest as he could, and head back to New Mexico.

He checked up on Kat. She had passed out across both of the front seats. The bleeding in her leg had slowed some, but she was staining the seat. “Katherine.”

She opened her eyes briefly. “What?” she mumbled as she closed them again.

“Other than the wound on your leg, are you harmed?”

She shook her head, then groaned. “Just tired, and dizzy.”

“My Dazzler is a bit disorienting, even when you have your eyes closed,” K.I.T.T explained.

Kat frowned, keeping her eyes shut. “What's a Dazzler?” she mumbled.

“A dazzler is a type of a directed-energy weapon employing intense visible light, usually generated by a laser.”

She smiled weakly. “You stole that right off of Wikipedia,” she accused.

K.I.T.T refused to acknowledge that, even though she was right. “It's just one of the Compliance Weapons that are available to me now that Attack Mode has been unlocked.”

Kat's chest shook briefly, like she was trying to laugh, only failing. “Compliance Weapon, I'll have to remember that one...” K.I.T.T wondered what she was finding so humorous.

She opened her eyes slowly. “Oh good, not as spinny anymore...” Spinny? Was that a word? He couldn't find it in his dictionary.

She smiled faintly. “You saved my life KITT, thank you. Again.”

There was a strange look in her eyes. Pain was there, he could recognize that, but combined with something else. He covered up his confusion by being flippant. “Anytime.”

“What happened to you, though? Why did you got nuts like that and shut down? Was it because of those weird weapons they used?”

“Those weapons generated an extremely high electrical charge. It crashed a few of my systems, including my CPU Core. You're lucky I managed to reboot in time.”

“I am. Was that you making that roaring engine noise? You've never made a noise like that before. You always run silent.”

“I keep a few sound files of engine noise, to help me better impersonate a car with a normal engine. I used one to distract the men holding you.”

“You sounded pissed.” Her eyebrows shot up.

“Then I chose the right one,” K.I.T.T replied. Kat smiled again. She was getting paler. “Kat, you should do something to staunch the blood coming from your wound.”

“You're right,” she said faintly. She struggled and sat up in the passenger's seat, her legs on the Driver's seat. She still seemed to be disoriented. Possibly from the blood loss and trauma. Her heartbeat was fluttery, erratic.

He folded the Driver's seat down halfway. He opened the back compartment, revealing the first aid kit. Kat grabbed some gauze from it and pressed it against her wound firmly. She had a grim look in her eyes.

“That man wearing all black,” she began. “He's the leader. The others listen to him. He's the one behind all of this.” She paused, her face filled with pain. “I think he's the one that killed Sam.” She looked over at the stereo. “He knows your weaknesses KITT. The fire, the electricity. He knew your doors could be opened if you shut down.”

K.I.T.T calculated what she was saying carefully. “How does he know those things?”

Kat shook her head. “I don't know.” She hesitated for a long second. “Maybe someone is helping him,” she said at last.

That didn't make much more sense to him. “How could anyone else know my weaknesses?”

She hesitated again. “Maybe someone from FLAG is helping him,” she suggested carefully.

K.I.T.T thought about that for a long time. Nearly a minute. “Anything is possible,” he hedged. “But it's hardly probable. The team is completely dedicated to the missions.”

Kat nodded. “I know. I can't think of any of them that would help someone hurt you. If there is a leak, maybe they didn't have a choice, or they didn't realize you would get hurt.” Her voice was getting weaker. “It's just something to think about...” She leaned back heavily against the passenger's door.

K.I.T.T was pushing 100mph, but they still had four states to go through. “Kat, if you authorize Pursuit Mode, I can get you back to FLAG in two hours.”

“Then go into Pursuit Mode. Why are you asking me?”

“You're my Driver, you know that.” He spoke as he changed. He folded in the back seat bringing the trunk forward, making himself smaller. The distance between his wheels widened, he drew closer to the road. He accelerated, eating up the pavement. He hit 450mph and pushed harder.

His wheels were getting hot from the friction of the road. His nano-skin could disperse the heat to other parts of his shell, but after an hour of driving, it would be completely worn off. It didn't matter now, he still had his Molecular-Bonded Shell.

Kat had passed out again. His speedometer crept higher. He had to be careful. He had the potential to go much faster than he was capable of withstanding. His shell would survive anything, but he was filled with sensitive equipment that could and would break down.

His first priority was getting Kat safe. She was weak and hurt, bleeding badly. Plus, the ones that tried to kill her were still out there. The ones that had killed Sam...

His programming told him that it wasn't %100 certain, but it was becoming more and more likely. Especially because that was what Kat believed. K.I.T.T was programmed to trust her absolutely.

His thoughts continued as he drove on in the night. Closer to safety, but was it really safe there?

If someone was helping their enemies, giving them information on his weaknesses. Was he putting Kat in more danger now?

No. F.L.A.G was still the best place for Kat. He would watch her closely just in case. He would make sure she stayed safe. He would not fail again.

He would never lose another Driver again...


	17. The Knight Before Christmas - Part 7

F.L.A.G. Underground Compound

Ian was working at Pierce's computer. Pierce had phoned him from his quarters and told him what to do. In fact, he was still on the phone now. “Okay, finished,” Ian said.

“Quiet,” Pierce shushed him. “Don't let anyone know you're talking to me. I'm not allowed to be working.”

Ian suppressed a sigh. “Technically, I'm the one that's working,” he reminded.

“Hardly,” Pierce scoffed. “You would be lost without me.”

Ian had to give him that, even if it irritated him a little. Pierce's computer ran on its own Operating System. One that Pierce had designed himself. It was the same OS he used for K.I.T.T. Charles had designed the A.I, but K.I.T.T ran on Pierce's OS, which was designed to work with Pierce's computer effortlessly.

All this meant that Pierce's computer was completely foreign to him in everything that it did, and how it did it. Ian was quick to learn how to use it, but after only a week, some things were still beyond him.

“What's next?” he asked.

“Pull up the nano-sensory program. I've been meaning to strip it down,” Pierce told him.

The phone was pulled out of Ian's hand. He looked up as David put his ear to it. “Stop working,” he said into it, and hung up.

Ian held his hand out for the cellphone, but David pocketed it. Ian gave him a fearful look. “You're not mad at me, are you?”

David looked down at him, as if he just noticed him. “No,” he said. “You were following orders, which isn't a bad trait.” Ian breathed a sigh of relief. David gave him all kinds of the willies. “Back to work.”

Ian looked at the monitor in front of him. He sighed and touched the icon for the program's menu. Pierce had wanted to strip down the Nano-Sensory program. Ian knew that it was probably beyond him, but he would take a look at it.

He brought up the program. “Yikes,” he said aloud, his eyebrows raising. “This thing does need to shed a few gigs.”

The whole program was so bloated. It plotted out things like pain, heat and cold sensory, varying degrees of pressure. And all of it was needless.

From what Ian had learned of K.I.T.T's programming, K.I.T.T didn't need all of this. This program was designed to tell K.I.T.T just how everything should feel, when it didn't need to. K.I.T.T's AI could interpret those things on its own. Not right away of course, but it had the capacity to learn what hurts him and what doesn't.

Ian fell into his work, his fingers blurring over the keys. He didn't bother trimming the old program, he just started up a new one using the basic code from the old one. That was all K.I.T.T needed, just the ability to know when something was touching the nano-skin. He could work out the rest on his own.

It did have the potential to be useful. If K.I.T.T was shut down and something placed on his exterior, when he rebooted, he would know what and where it was. It would be useful as well if someone managed to get around his optical and audio sensors. He could even use it to understand varying terrains better.

It had more potential than what was realized now, Ian was sure of it. He would show this to Pierce, if he was ever allowed to come back from vacation.

Suddenly a red light flashed overhead. All of the technicians stopped their work. Information ran over Pierce's screen. Rei ran over. “What is it?” she asked urgently.

Ian studied the screen. “Uh... something just entered the tunnel.”

“Bring up the cameras,” Rei told him.

“I don't know how,” Ian told her helplessly.

She turned to her brother. “Kai.”

The big screen flared to life, showing many different sections of the ten mile long tunnel that lead to the main lab. A black blur roared past each of them one by one.

“Is that KITT?” Carmen asked, looking up at the screen.

“Whatever it is, it's not responding to communications,” Kai said.

“Maybe something has happened to his comlink,” Rei suggested.

“Do we let it in?” Ian asked. “It's almost at the lift.”

Kai rewound the footage on one of the cameras. He paused it just as the black shape came into view. The High Definition feed froze perfectly. “It's KITT. Let him in.”

“Why is he coming in at max speed?” Rei asked, worry furrowing her porcelain brow.

“Something must have happened to Kat,” Carmen said. She turned to two of her mechanics. “Get Dustin.”

The circle in the middle of the lab lowered into the floor. When it came up again, K.I.T.T was resting on it. Steam was coming off of his tires. “Have Dustin bring a stretcher,” he said at once. “Kat is unconscious.”

People rushed forward at once. Carmen reached the passenger's door first. She pulled it open and caught Kat as she fell out. She lifted the taller woman up into her arms easily and jogged over to Dustin, who had two attendants pushing the stretcher.

Ian's eyes were glued to Kat. Her face was chalky pale, dried blood ran down her leg from a nasty wound in her thigh. Carmen laid her on the stretcher, but she didn't move. She didn't open her eyes.

Then she was gone, rushed to the Medical Lab. Carmen, Kai and Rei followed. Everyone else went back to work, but shot worried glances at the Med room.

Ian looked over at K.I.T.T. He had left the passenger's door open. The red light on his hood flowed back and forth pensively.

Ian walked over to the car. “Are you okay?”

“Who are you?” K.I.T.T asked at once, curious.

“My name's Ian. Ian DuFresne. I work for Pierce. I started last week.”

“Nice to meet you, Ian,” K.I.T.T said with distant politeness.

Ian frowned. “Are you okay?” he asked again.

“A few of my systems were damaged by an electrical pulse. I was unable to contact FLAG before hitting the tunnel.”

Ian's frown deepened. He looked down the length of the car. He could see where two electrodes had been attached to K.I.T.T, their severed wires dangling. “I didn't mean that,” he said. He quickly corrected himself. “Of course it's important. Your Driver was just carried away in a stretcher. How are you holding up?” He knew a only a little bit about K.I.T.T's AI, but he did know that if you hurt the driver, you hurt the AI.

“I am holding up perfectly fine,” K.I.T.T answered.

Ian placed his hand on the top of the car. “You're sure?”

“I'm a little worried,” K.I.T.T said reluctantly.

“Katherine will be all right,” Ian assured him swiftly.

“I know that,” K.I.T.T replied. He was starting to sound irritated.

Ian gave up and checked for damage. Enrique and another mechanic came over and did the same. They pried off the electrodes, which were covered with a sticky substance. Ian guess it was probably also highly conductive. They placed the electrodes carefully in a container and put it aside.

Ian checked out the interior. The sight of the blood staining the seats made his head swim. He decided to leave things alone for now. “What systems or functions are giving you errors?” he asked K.I.T.T once he was a safe distance from the car door.

“GPS, Communications, Air Conditioning, EMPulse, and I can't access the rear window or the rear lights.”

Ian's brows pushed together. He went back over to Pierce's desk. “How's your CPU Core?” he asked.

“No errors, but I had to reboot.”

“Any information lost?” Ian asked.

“I wouldn't know.”

“Right,” Ian said. He tapped at the keyboard. “Charles will have to look at your CPU Core, but I can fix the other errors. We'll reinstall your GPS and Communications programs and I will take a look at the rest.” He would have to get inside of the car, not a prospect he was looking forward to right now. He had dreamed of sitting inside of K.I.T.T for the last week, but not with the seats bloodstained.

“I'll wait for Charles,” K.I.T.T said.

“No worries. I can do at least this much,” Ian assured him.

“I'll still wait.”

Ian looked over at the car. There was definitely something there, something in its synthesized voice. “You don't trust me.”

“We did just meet right now,” K.I.T.T replied.

“I work for Pierce,” Ian reminded him, walking over again. “Charles too.”

“They aren't here to say otherwise.”

“Call them,” Ian suggested. “You can patch into Pierce's computer and reinstall your communications and phone yourself. Give him a call.”

“I've already done all of that. Pierce's cell phone has been disconnected.”

Ian grimaced. “Yeah, that would be David's work. He caught Pierce cheating before.” He held his arms out. “So, what can I do to show I am trustworthy?”

K.I.T.T hesitated. “I'm not sure.”

Ian placed his hand on K.I.T.T's hood. “Scan me,” he said.

K.I.T.T scanned Ian's hand. Information began to pop up on the windshield. “This is you, correct?”

Ian nodded, looking at the information. “My whole life on paper.”

“You finished college at 19?”

“It was boring, but it was something to do after I graduated from High School. I was 15 then.” There was a hint of pride in his voice. “Pierce found me a few weeks ago. I didn't even bother completing my term.” He removed his hand from the hood. “It's not enough, is it?”

“My apologies, but no,” K.I.T.T said. “Someone has been using my weaknesses to try to hurt Kat. Someone who knows what they are.”

Ian glanced back at the Med room. “She's definitely something all right. I would be protective, too.”

“Please,” K.I.T.T said derisively. “You're thinking with your hormones. Something that I, mercifully, lack.”

Ian smiled. “Hormones are fun. Maybe I'll make an emulator program for you one day.”

“The very thought horrifies me. It would be nothing but a chaos generator.”

He laughed. “Pretty much.”

Charles hurried down the stairs then. “I'm sorry I took so long, I was in the lab in Building B.”

Ian knew Building B. It housed the Research and Development Lab, where he had spent the last week.

“Is Katherine alright?” he asked anxiously, looking back and forth between Ian and K.I.T.T.

“They're still looking at her,” Ian told him.

Charles nodded. “And KITT? How are you?”

K.I.T.T ran down his list of errors, and what had caused them. “I've reinstalled my GPS and Communications programs and they are functioning properly.”

“Ian, fetch me a kit,” Charles said as he took off his jacket. “K.I.T.T, revert back from Pursuit Mode.” He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves to the elbows. Ian went over to Pierce's desk and grabbed a slim black case. He handed it to Charles.

Charles took the case and headed around to K.I.T.T's rear as the car changed back to its normal shape. Ian watched in amazement. He knew the science behind it was sound, but it was something different to watch it happen.

When K.I.T.T was done, Charles popped open the trunk. He opened the black case Ian had handed him and pulled out a screwdriver. He unscrewed the panel at the bottom of the trunk and pulled it out.

Ian whistled. The amount of circuitry under the panel was mind boggling. “What can I do?” he asked, feeling excitement well up inside of him.

“Go into the backseat, check the panel on the left. Right on the other side of where that electrical pulse hit him. There's probably shorts all over the place,” Charles said as he began to work.

Ian went and got another kit, then headed back to the car. “You don't mind, do you?” he asked K.I.T.T.

“I have no choice,” K.I.T.T replied.

Ian grinned. He patted the car's top and hurried into the backseat. He tried to ignore the bloodstained seat altogether. It was easier with the prospect of work ahead of him. He was finally going to work on K.I.T.T himself. Yeah, he had only found out about K.I.T.T a week ago, but the wait had been excruciating.

He removed the side panel, shining a flashlight into the gadgetry. Charles was right, it was pretty fried. “Everything in here will have to be replaced,” Ian said. “No wonder the lights don't work.”

“You do circuitry work as well?” K.I.T.T asked. “Pierce just works with my programs.”

Ian shrugged. “I do both, I like it. Charles does both,” he pointed out.

“Charles is a genius,” K.I.T.T said, his voice showing deep respect.

Ian bristled. “So am I. I graduated High School at 15.”

“Charles has over 30 years of experience,” K.I.T.T countered.

“I'll get there,” Ian said cheerfully. “We'll get along, you'll see.” He went back to work.

Outside of K.I.T.T, Carmen walked over to Charles. “How is he?” she asked worriedly.

“A few systems are shorted. Shouldn't be too hard to replace,” Charles told her while he worked. For a man over fifty, his long fingers were still deft and nimble. His hands didn't even tremble. “How is Katherine?”

“Still unconscious,” Carmen informed him. She pushed her hands into her pockets. “She lost a good bit of blood. Dustin is giving her a transfusion now.”

Charles looked up at her in amazement. “You don't mean...”

Carmen nodded. “Yeah, he's using Sam's blood.”

“Now that is poetic,” he said, returning to his work.

“OK, I'll bite,” Ian said, getting out of the backseat. “What's poetic about a transfusion?” He had a few burnt out circuit boards in his hands. “By Sam, you mean the guy that died?”

“Sam was KITT's old driver.” Carmen told him. “His blood type was O.”

Ian nodded. “So is mine. Dustin has already scavenged me for spare blood.” His smile was grim.

“Dustin collects O blood for emergencies,” Carmen said.

“So, the old Driver is retroactively saving the new Driver's life?” Ian guessed. “I guess that is kind of poetic.”

“That's not all of it,” Charles said. “Samuel was Katherine's older brother.”

Ian's eyebrows shot up. “Wow.” Charles and Carmen nodded.


	18. The Knight Before Christmas - Part 8

F.L.A.G Underground Compound

Kat was slow to wake up. She knew that she was drifting back to consciousness, but she didn't want to open her eyes. She was unbearably tired. Her body ached, especially her leg. She just wanted to sleep more.

There was a soft knocking noise not too far away. She heard a chair creak and footsteps. Then a door opened. “David said you weren't allowed anywhere near the main lab.” That was Dustin's voice.

“Look, I promise you, I'm not working. Can I just see her?” It was Pierce. He sounded pretty anxious.

“Of course. I was just reminding you what David said.”

There were more footsteps, coming closer to her, then the sound of a curtain being pulled back. “Katherine?” There was a sound at her side as Pierce sat down next to her.

Reluctantly, she opened her eyes a little. The lights were dim, it must be pretty late. “How long was I out?” she mumbled.

“A few hours,” Dustin told her. He was standing by the foot of her hospital-type bed. “You lost some blood and we gave you a transfusion. How are you feeling?”

“Tired,” she said, and it was so, so true. She was beyond exhausted.

Dustin gave Pierce a stern look. “Five minutes, then she needs her rest.”

“Five minutes.” Pierce nodded. Dustin left them alone. Pierce watched him leave and turned back to Kat. “Are you in pain?” he asked her.

His expression was so tortured, Kat felt bad for him. “No.” she lied. “I'm fine. Dustin gave me some good stuff.” The wound in her thigh was starting to burn, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

Pierce's relief was overwhelmingly evident. “When I heard what had happened, I-” He looked embarrassed. “I was worried.” He gazed at her face.

“You shouldn't worry about me,” she told him. “Worry about KITT, someone out there knows his weaknesses. They've been exploiting them.”

“They're trying to get to you, Katherine.” Pierce's expression was deadly serious. “They nearly did.”

Kat waved one hand feebly. “It looks worse than it is.”

He gave her an incredulous look. “You were shot.”

“It still looks worse than it is. I will recover just fine.”

He put his hand over hers, staring at her intently. Alarm bells started going off in her head. “We don't want to lose you, Katherine,” he whispered.

Kat pulled her hand out from under his. She searched for something to fiddle with. She settled on the tape on her arm which held her IV needle in place. “I'm not going anywhere.” She kept her voice neutral, not looking at him. “I'm going to stick with the Team until the end. Which won't be for quite some time.” She glanced at him, gauging his reaction.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it. He looked down beside the hospital bed, retrieving something from the floor. He lifted up a shopping bag.

“What's that?”

“It's Christmas,” he answered. He pulled a wrapped present out of the bag and handed it to her. She took it in her hands, sitting up a little. “It's not from me,” he said nervously. “I mean, I don't really celebrate Christmas. This is from Sam.”

Kat gave him a wondering look. She put a finger under the tape holding a flap down, but hesitated.

“He was my roommate,” he explained, speaking quickly and stumbling over his words. “He did his Christmas shopping early, in September I think. He told me that this was for you. I wrapped it for you, if you don't mind.”

Kat's vision blurred. Her eyes felt hot. She drew in a shaky breath. Pierce watched her for a long moment. “I'll leave you alone, give you some privacy.” He stood and retreated. Kat heard the door close behind him.

Her hands trembled as she ripped the paper off of the package. They shook as she opened the box and pulled out the snow globe.

It was made of cheap plastic. A snowman in front of a wooden cottage with a sign that said 'North Pole' next to it. It probably hadn't cost more than five dollars.

Kat cradled it in her hands as if it was the most precious thing in the world. She brought it to her chest. Her shoulders hunched and she bowed her head as she sobbed.

After a long moment of crying, she quieted to a sniffle. She wiped at her eyes, looking down at the snow globe again. “It's like he's still here,” she said through her tears. “That he's not really gone, he's still watching me from somewhere.”

“He saved your life,” K.I.T.T answered quietly in her ear. “Dustin used his blood to save you. Blood he collected while Sam was still alive.”

“He's dead. He's gone,” Kat said as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. “But he's still being my big brother. He's still taking care of me.”

“He's protecting you,” K.I.T.T told her. “He left me here too. I'll protect you.”

Kat wrapped her arms around her torso as her body began to shake. “We have to finish this, KITT. We have to find out what happened. We have to find Sam, wherever he is. We have to find his body. We have to say goodbye.”

“We will.”

Kat felt her heart aching, like it would tear in half, cut right through the rest of her. She desperately held herself together.

“Pierce likes you,” K.I.T.T said suddenly.

She blinked in surprise. “Are you trying to distract me?” she asked weakly, unbelieving.

“Yes.”

Her smile was small and shaky. “KITT-”

“Do you like him?” K.I.T.T interrupted.

Her chest shook with something that was almost like laughter. She gripped herself tighter. “You're not really interested in that kind of stuff, are you?”

“Not really, no. Maybe on another day, but I am trying to distract you,” K.I.T.T pointed out. “You pulled your hand away from his.”

Kat wiped at her wet cheeks. “You saw that? Am I still wearing my contacts?” The word 'Yes' appeared before her eyes in green. “I keep forgetting I'm wearing them. That can't be good. What if I go blind or something?”

“The contacts disintegrate after 48 hours. They are only amino acids.”

“Well, that's good. I'll have to make sure I have plenty of spares on long missions, though.” Her voice was thin and wavering. Her tears were only just held back.

“What's wrong with Pierce?”

“There's no deflecting you, is there?”

“I'm not as easily distracted as you are.”

“I thought you didn't find this sort of stuff interesting.”

“Still not deflected. Well?”

Kat scowled. “There's nothing wrong with Pierce,” she said. “But I don't know him that well, do I? I'm not the type to rush into things like that. It took Daniel four months of trying to get me to go on a date with him.”

“Wait, I know this one,” K.I.T.T paused. “You play 'hard to get', don't you?”

Her chest swelled, a laugh almost fell out of her mouth, weak and small. “Where are you getting this from? Are you downloading teen magazines or something?”

“I got you to laugh.”

“Granted. You managed to distract the slow-witted human. Happy?”

“Immensely.”

She laughed again. “Thanks.”

“It's a good thing that you're not interested in Pierce.”

Her back stiffened. “Oh, why is that?”

“I won't have to protect you from Carmen.”

She blinked in surprise. “Carmen? You're kidding! Those two hate each other.”

“If you say so.”

Kat shook her head. “No way... Where did you get this from?”

“Observations. You would be surprised how often people forget that I am more than mere background. Especially if I stay quiet.”

“Nah, no way. Carmen and Pierce? I don't believe it.”

“I didn't say you had to.”

“And you. Stop spying on people, that's wrong.”

“We'll see.”

 

********

 

The next morning, Dustin handed Kat a clipboard. “What's this?” she asked.

“Medical leave papers. I am submitting them to David. You shouldn't be on any more missions until you are fully healed.”

Kat's eyebrows shot up as she read the paper. “Two months? I was only-”

“Shot in the leg,” Dustin said gravely. “The muscle is torn, the bullet hit the bone, fracturing it. I'll fit you with a brace before you leave. Two months should give you enough time to recover.”

“What am I going to do for two months?” she asked incredulously.

Dustin placed his hands on the metal railing at the foot of her bed. He leaned closer to her, his expression serious. “Rest.” His dark eyes were stern.

Kat signed the paper meekly.

 

********

 

“David approved my medical leave,” Kat said to K.I.T.T sourly as she made her way to the cafeteria. “I was hoping he would stay true to form and be a hard ass about it. At least cut the time in half, but no, he agrees with Dustin. God, I hate that man. I can't even rely on him to be evil when I need him to.”

“I agree with the both of them,” K.I.T.T told her.

“Don't you start,” Kat said as she pushed the cafeteria doors open and limped inside. Dustin had given her a cane so she could walk around. She felt utterly ridiculous with it, but it did make things easier.

Angela had done a nice job on the cafeteria. There was gold and red tinsel everywhere. A radio was playing Christmas carols. A large plastic tree sat in the corner, lit up merrily.

Angela herself stood facing a table that had been pushed against the wall. It was covered with a black cloth. There were many lit candles in glass holders on it.

Kat walked over to her. Her head was bowed, her shoulders slumped. She was staring down at her hands, which held a small red box. “You okay?” Kat asked gently.

Angela started. She turned to Kat quickly, hiding the box behind her back. “Oh, hey Katherine.” She smiled brightly. “What's up?”

Kat glanced at the table. There was a picture on the wall over it. It was of Sam and K.I.T.T. They were in the main lab. Sam was sitting on K.I.T.T's roof, his legs dangling over the windshield. He was grinning like a madman.

She turned back to Angela. “Did Pierce come see you this morning?” she asked quietly.

Angela looked surprised. “What? Oh... yeah. Briefly. Just wanted to say Merry Christmas.”

Kat gave her a sympathetic look. “Pierce doesn't celebrate Christmas.”

Angela bowed her head again. “Yeah...” Kat put a hand on her shoulder. She stepped back quickly, raising her head. “Why did he have to get me this?” she asked, showing the red box. “Why did he have to go and do that?”

Kat just watched her as a pleading expression came over her face. “I liked Sam. A lot. I thought that maybe he liked me too, but he never said anything. Nothing. Why did he have to do this?” Her eyes filled with tears. “Why? Why didn't he say something while he was here?” She pressed the heel of her free hand to her cheek, her face crumpling.

Kat put her arms around the other woman's shoulders. Angela leaned her forehead against Kat's collarbone miserably and sniffled. After a moment, she drew away. “I'm fine. I'll be fine,” she said, composing herself.

“I'm here if you want to talk,” Kat told her. “I don't mind.”

She nodded. “Thanks, Katherine.”

“Call me Kat.”

Angela smiled. “Thanks, Kat.”

Kat nodded to the present. “Are you going to open it?”

She shook her head. “Not right now. I'm not ready.” She looked down at the small red box. “Maybe one day.”


	19. The Knight Before Christmas - Part 9

After a late breakfast, Kat limped down the metal staircase into the Main Lab. K.I.T.T had red tinsel dangling from both mirrors. “I see Angela got to you, too.” She smiled at the Camaro.

“I tried to stop her. I even threatened to shoot her,” K.I.T.T said. “Can you get this stuff off of me?”

Kat thought about it for a moment. “Nah, we need all the Christmas spirit we can get right now.”

“Christmas is apparently a gaudy holiday,” K.I.T.T commented dryly.

“Just wait until Valentine's Day,” Kat said slyly. “Maybe I will have you go hot pink. All day.”

“That's just evil.”

She laughed as she walked over to him and leaned her cane against the Driver's door. She hoisted herself up onto his hood and sat with her back pressed against the windshield. She crossed her legs at her ankles.

“Do you mind?” K.I.T.T asked.

“Not at all, thank you.” She leaned her head back and sighed. “Two months. What am I going to do with two months of free time?”

“We'll think of something.”

“We? What if I go on vacation?”

“So will I. You'll need me to get where you're going.”

“So... we're stuck within the U.S?

“I could drive to Canada,” he pointed out.

“You're still experimental KITT. You can't leave the country till you're proven, and Knight Industries gets all the patents. What if the Canadians stole you and kept your technology for themselves?”

“Are they a sinister government?”

“Not really, no. They are pretty big on the environment.”

“They would love me then, I emit pure oxygen.”

Kat's brows shot up. “Really? Oxygen?”

“Affirmative.”

“But you still can't tell me what you run on.”

“Negative, my apologies.”

Kat folded her arms behind her head. She stared up two stories, to the roof of the Main Lab. “Who am I kidding? I'm not going on vacation,” she said quietly. “I'm going to find those guys that killed Sam.”

“Perhaps we should try to learn more about them before confronting them.”

“You have some info?”

A screen appeared on K.I.T.T's hood next to her. “We now have the faces of two more mercenaries. Perhaps there is a way to find out who hired them. Kai and Rei have been working on that.” The faces of the five men that had attacked them so far were lined up along his hood.

K.I.T.T highlighted the leader's screen. “The unknown man has had reconstructive surgery to his face. If I can do a more in-depth scan on his bone structure, I could make a composite of what his face used to look like.”

“That would be useful,” Kat said. “But we've only ever seen him when he's attacked us.”

“I've also been scouring the Internet for forensics information. I have been using what I've learned to study Sam's room again. There are a few points that appear abnormal. The bloodstains in particular.” He wiped the faces of their attackers off of his hood and brought up the picture of Sam's room. “The splatter patterns are inconsistent. Especially if you look here.” He zoomed in on a particularly gory part of the room.

Kat held up a hand. “It's abnormal, I got it. Don't go into a long explanation right now. I'm not sure I can handle it.” K.I.T.T wiped the room off his hood as well. “You've been doing all this while I was asleep?”

“You were out for over twelve hours.”.

“Geez, I feel pretty useless now. It's a shame you're stuck with me. You need a sidekick who doesn't sleep.”

“Are you starting that argument again?” K.I.T.T asked.

“It wouldn't be an argument if you would just admit that I'm right.”

“I'm programmed not to lie to you.”

“Then why are we even having this discussion?”

“So you’re finally agreeing with me?”

Kat rolled her eyes. “Carmen,” she called to the Head Mechanic.

Carmen paused her work. “Que?” She hefted a huge wrench up onto one shoulder and looked over at Kat.

“Who's the sidekick? Me or KITT?”

“You, hands down,” Carmen answered. She returned to her work.

“See?” Kat asked K.I.T.T.

Ian interrupted from Pierce's desk. “Wait, I thought KITT was designed to assist his Driver. Doesn't that make him the sidekick?” He looked confused.

“See?” K.I.T.T asked Kat. His synthesized voice was smug.

Enrique was shaking his head. “Nah, Tia's right.” He smiled at Kat charmingly. “No offense, Katherine.”

Kat stared at Enrique. Something in her stomach tightened. “None taken,” she said, sounding a little dazed.

Kai and Rei soon joined in the debate, saying that K.I.T.T was indeed the one who assisted Kat. Kat wasn't paying attention any more though. “Who is that?” she asked K.I.T.T, keeping her voice a whisper.

“Enrique? He's Carmen's nephew. They joined the project together. Carmen calls him 'Enri'.” K.I.T.T answered promptly.

“Nephew? He looks the same age as Carmen.”

“Actually, he's a year older.”

“Hm.” Kat's eyebrows raised. “Interesting.”

“I suppose,” K.I.T.T said dully.

Suddenly, on the wall above them, the big screen flared to life. It was completely black, except for a yellow light that moved back and forth across it. “What's that?”

“I don't know,” K.I.T.T answered.

The computer technicians were suddenly working much more urgently at their desks. “KITT, get off the network!” Kai yelled.

“We're being hacked,” Rei finished.

K.I.T.T immediately shut down all of his systems that connected to F.L.A.G's network. He also terminated his own Internet connection. “I'm offline,” he told them.

Kat could feel dread welling up inside of her. She watched as the other technicians scrambled. “This is bad, isn't it?”

“I can't be sure, but if someone has gotten through Pierce's firewalls and Charles' encryptions, then it's certainly not good.”

She looked up as she heard doors opening above her. Charles and David both stepped outside of their offices. David walked purposefully out of the Main Lab. Charles headed down the stairs. “My computer is completely locked up,” he announced. “How is it down here?”

Rei smacked her keyboard in agitation. “So is mine.” She turned her monitor, showing it to Charles. It was completely black, except for a yellow light moving back and forth across it.

“Mine too.” Kai shoved his keyboard away from him in disgust. The other computer techs had similar reactions. “And I have no idea what it is.”

“It has to be a virus,” Rei said firmly.

“Rei, what virus have we seen that moves like that?”

“Moves like what?” Charles asked Kai.

Kai shook his head. “It's weird. It feels like a hacker, but acts like a virus. It just goes from computer to computer, accessing all of the files, but not damaging anything. Then, when it's done, it locks up the computer and moves on.”

Charles looked around the lab. “Is anyone still running?”

“I am,” Ian said from Pierce's desk. Everyone turned to him.

There was a look of intense concentration on his face. His eyes darted quickly over the screens as he typed.

Just then, Pierce came running down the metal staircase. Ian rolled his chair away and let him have his computer. Pierce grabbed another chair and fell into work at once.

Kat looked up at the walkway. David looked back down at her briefly, then he turned his attention back to Pierce.

Pierce reached to his side and slid another keyboard out from the desk there. His eyes darted to each of his monitors. His hands flew over both keyboards. Charles walked up and watched over his shoulder.

One by one, Pierce's monitors blacked out. The same yellow light ran across each of them. “What the hell are you?” he muttered. His main monitor blacked out. Pierce shoved away from his desk in frustration.

He got to his feet and paced. “It's looking for something,” he said. “It's been through our entire database in under a minute. All of our security measures were like nothing to it. It's searching for something, relentlessly.”

“If it's been through the entire database, then hasn't it found whatever it's looking for by now?” Rei asked.

“No, not yet,” Ian said quietly.

Pierce paused in his pacing. He turned to Ian, following his gaze. “KITT, get back on the network,” he said suddenly.

“This virus is after KITT?” Kat asked, alarmed.

“Yes, it has to be, there's nothing else.” Pierce walked over to KITT. “He has to connect and access the network now.”

“No!” Kat objected. “KITT, stay off of the network.”

“He has to connect now,” Pierce insisted. “This thing has just been through every file we have here. All of that information, potentially in someone else's hands. We have to stop it. KITT can stop it.”

“No! It's too dangerous!” Kat looked around the room wildly, at all of the other computers, their screens blackened. That sickening yellow light was the only thing on them. Her hands tightened on K.I.T.T's hood protectively.

“Katherine, KITT's the only computer here powerful enough to take that thing on,” Pierce said urgently. “There's no virus in the world that can beat him, trust me.”

“He's not just some 'computer'!” Kat yelled in frustration.

The Main Lab was silent. Everyone watched Kat, sitting on K.I.T.T's hood, facing down Pierce. She was glaring at him. He stared back at her in surprise. Then everyone turned to Charles.

Charles looked up at David.

David surveyed the chaos below him calmly, both hands on the metal railway. “Do it.”

Kat's eyes narrowed. She glared at David angrily. He continued to look back at her calmly. She turned away.

Meanwhile, K.I.T.T reconnected to F.L.A.G's network. He encountered the foreign entity at once. It was dark and malicious. It seized its chance ruthlessly. K.I.T.T could feel it invading his systems, spreading, searching. He fought back, keeping it at bay, protecting his CPU Core. “It's strong.” Everyone was watching him intently. “It's trying to break into my CPU Core.”

“KITT, disconnect,” Kat pleaded. “Now.”

“I... can't.” K.I.T.T struggled. “It's... bigger... than... I... am.”

Pierce's eyes widened. “How is that possible?”

“It's... not... a... virus.”

Ian ran over to Pierce's desk. He grabbed a black bag from underneath it. “My laptop's not connected to the network,” he said to himself as he unzipped the bag and pulled it out. He switched it on.

He ran back over to K.I.T.T, laptop and USB cable in hand. He pulled on the passenger's door handle. The door didn't open. “Let me in, I can help,” he told K.I.T.T. He tugged on the door handle again, but it still wouldn't open. “Come on! I can help you!”

“Let him in,” Kat said quietly. She looked down at her hand, which was resting on K.I.T.T's hood next to her.

The door popped open. Ian slid into the passenger's seat. He hooked the USB cable into the back of his laptop, the other end he placed in the USB slot under the dash. “Okay, let's see this monster...” he said as he began typing quickly.

“It's... inside... my... C...P...U...Core.”

Kat's eyes were wide. “I can hear it,” she said faintly. “I can hear it.”

Pierce grabbed her by the shoulders. “What do you mean?”

“I can hear it, just like when KITT talks to me, through the implant.” Kat stared blankly ahead.

“The implant is linked directly to his CPU Core,” Charles said. “Whatever it is must be taking KITT over.” He stared at Kat. “What is it saying?”

“I've found you...” Kat's face was terrified. “Over and over. I've found you. I've found you. Finally, I've found you.”

Charles' expression grew horrified. He turned to the big screen, watching that sick yellow light flow back and forth across the black screen. “No, it can't be,” he whispered in disbelief.

Kat's whole body stiffened. “Die,” she whispered.

“Not while I'm here,” Ian muttered. He finished his typing and hit 'ENTER'.

K.I.T.T felt the overwhelming presence lift immediately. He pushed back, purging it from his system. “It's gone,” he announced.

There were gasps of relief throughout the main lab. Kai hugged his sister tightly. Pierce's shoulders sagged. He dropped his hands from Kat's shoulders and turned away. “Thank goodness.”

“Let's get it off the other computers, KITT,” Ian said. He had continued typing.

One by one the screens returned to normal. Technicians returned to their desks immediately, taking stock of the damage.

Kat slid off of K.I.T.T's hood. She walked over to Pierce. He was looking extremely disheveled. Not working hadn't been agreeing with him much. He pushed his glasses up his nose. “I apologize Katherine...”

She shook her head. “Don't worry about it. Everything came out fine.” She nodded over to Ian, who was still working. “Shouldn't have that been you in there?”

Pierce shook his head. “Oh no. Ian was perfect for this. Much more experienced than I am. And I'm good.” He looked a little guilty and lowered his voice. “Ian's a hacker. One of the best. That's how I found him.”

Kat stared at him in alarm. “What? How could you hire him?”

Pierce put up his hand in a placating gesture. “Look, I've come across him a few times over the last year. Recently, I tracked him down, found out he was some kid in a community college in California. I check out his Tumblr and he is a total car fanatic. A freak. So, I went down there and offered him a job,”

Kat was looking at him as if he were demented. “Pierce-”

“Just look at him, Katherine.” Pierce gestured behind her. She turned.

“Yes!” Ian whooped. He got out of the passenger's seat and thrust one fist in the air. “Take that!” He was grinning crazily.

“All of the computers are back online?” Charles asked.

“Yep. And no damage or files lost. Whatever that thing was, it wasn't trying to steal anything. It just passed over, looking for KITT.” Ian turned to K.I.T.T. He put one hand on his roof. “You are an amazing machine. Absolutely amazing,” he said, his voice filled with something like worship. “I think I'm in love.”

“My condolences, Ian. Kat tells me that I am male,” K.I.T.T replied.

Ian shrugged. “Whatever.” He laughed.

“While you might be homosexual, I am not,” K.I.T.T tried again.

“Oh? You have someone in mind then?” Ian challenged. He glanced over at Kat.

“As long as it's not you.”

Ian laughed again. “It was still good working with you.”

“Likewise.”

Kat couldn't help but smile. Pierce laughed softly. “He's just a kid. A genius, but still a kid. All he wants out of life is a challenge. What he needs is a place he can grow.” He lowered his voice even more. “Just don't tell him I said any of this.”

“I guess...” she said. “I'm just going to say this: He better not start kissing my car. Because then we'll have problems.”

Pierce raised an eyebrow. “Your car?”

Kat gave him a look. “Are you saying otherwise?”

He raised his hands. “No ma'am.”


	20. The Knight Before Christmas - Part 10

F.L.A.G Underground Compound

David surveyed the scene below, both hands on the metal rail. His face was impassive.

Charles headed up the stairs and joined him. The older man placed his forearms on the metal railing, leaning forward. He watched the people below with an expression of relief.

“What was that?” David asked quietly.

“No idea,” Charles said.

“You have a speculation, at least,” David said, still watching the Main Lab.

“I must be an old man,” Charles said ruefully. “I'm being haunted by the ghosts of the past.”

David frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I'll have to retrieve the files from cold storage. You don’t know much about KITT's predecessors. I believe you were ten at the time.”

David nodded. Documentation was something he understood.

“Things were pretty close,” Charles said. “Thank goodness for Ian.”

“I suppose.” His voice was dull

“You were gripping that railing pretty tight for a bit there,” Charles commented

David dropped his hands to his sides. He turned to Charles finally, his expression neutral. “Regarding the earlier attacks. Three Thousand is too easily recognized the way it is. Have it refitted before it is sent on any more missions. Katherine should be disguised as well whenever she goes out.”

“All right,” Charles assented. “Anything else?”

“Have the files on my desk in two hours.” He turned and walked back into his office.

 

********

 

“Well, look who did a 180,” Carmen said triumphantly as she walked into the Cafeteria.

Kat sat at a table with Angela and Rei. She had eaten only a few hours ago, but she was still ravenous. Recuperating was taking a lot out of her. “What do you mean?”

Carmen pulled up a chair and sat with the other women. “Going from 'You're just a car...' to 'He's not just some 'computer'!' in under a month?” She made her voice a high falsetto as she mimicked Kat.

Kat turned her attention to her plate. “Yeah, so? It's not a big deal.”

“Of course it is,” Carmen grinned. “You're becoming one of us.”

Kat frowned. “You're all a bunch of fanatics and work-a-holics,” she said to her plate.

Angela giggled. “Yep. And now... so are you.”

“Here's a question.” Carmen leaned back in her chair. “You find out what happened to Sam, you finish that, you settle it. Then, David walks in and tears up your contract. Would you leave?”

Kat stared at her plate silently. She moved the food around with her fork.

“Yeah, would you leave us? Go back to being a pilot?” Angela asked.

“Well?” Rei asked.

Kat still didn't answer.

“What are they saying?” K.I.T.T asked.

“They wanna know if I'm going to leave when we're done with Sam,” Kat told him.

“Why are they asking that? Don't they know the answer?”

“Do you?” Kat asked pointedly.

“Of course. You're not going anywhere.”

She was silent for a moment. The three women watched her. “You don't know that.” She speared a baby carrot with her fork and popped it in her mouth.

Angela, Rei and Carmen smiled at each other knowingly.

 

********

 

Hours later, the Main Lab was dark. It was lights out and almost everyone was asleep. Pierce was back on vacation, confined to his quarters.

Only one person moved around in the Main Lab: Charles. He was pacing rather randomly.

“You should get some rest,” K.I.T.T told him.

“I'm not so old that I don't have a few more sleepless nights left in me,” Charles replied.

“You seem agitated. Your heart rate is accelerated.”

Charles sighed heavily and walked over to K.I.T.T . He leaned on the hood. “I'm worried.”

“What is there to worry over? Everything turned out fine.”

He folded his hands and stared down at them. “The future,” he said at last. “And the past.”

“Your words are enigmatic,” K.I.T.T replied. “Do you know what is going to happen?”

Charles shook his head. “That's what has me worried. I do not know what lies in the darkness of the future. I only have my fears of the past. So many loose threads, they can strangle a man.”

“I'm going to guess that you don't mean in the literal sense, since you appear fine to me.”

Charles grimaced. “Earlier, you said that the thing that attacked you wasn't a virus. You said it was bigger than you. Not stronger, but bigger. Can you explain that in more detail?”

“It spoke to me. Like another AI, but I've never met another AI, so I can't say if that was what it was with certainty. I am the stronger one, I think, but that presence knew much more than I did, it tried to crush me with what it knew. It's older than I am, and has grown far more than I have,” K.I.T.T paused. “Do you know what it was?”

“I have a guess, but it could just be an old man's fears. I might be seeing shadows where there are none.” Charles bowed his head for a moment. “Enough rambling on my part. How goes your learning?”

“I've finished learning Chinese, bringing my total of known languages to twelve. I am working on Russian next.”

“I'm impressed. You know more languages than I do now.”

“I have more free time.”

Charles smiled. “How have you been adjusting to Katherine?”

“She still confuses me a great deal,” K.I.T.T answered. “We get along better at least. She's interesting to talk to, even if she has some things reversed. Perhaps the logic portion of her brain is bugged.”

Charles glanced through K.I.T.T's windshield. Kat was curled up asleep in the backseat. The book he had given her was lying on the floor. “She's grown protective of you,” he commented.

“That's one of the points that defies logic. I'm supposed to protect her. I'm the one with the Molecular-Bonded Shell and the small-range missile array.”

Charles chuckled. “Strength isn't just measured in physical power. There is also strength of spirit. And Katherine's is quite fierce.”

“You mean how she believes that she is stronger than she is? That's just foolishness.”

“You'll understand one day.”

“The day that Kat's actions make sense to me is the day I will know madness,” K.I.T.T predicted. “She keeps insisting that she is the sidekick.”

Charles shook his head. “She's wrong.”

“I know that.”

“So are you.”

“What do you mean?” K.I.T.T asked. “How can we both be wrong?”

“The very basics of your argument are flawed,” Charles said simply. “Who's the sidekick, who assists who, who is the strong one. All flawed. Your thinking was wrong exactly when the both of you assumed that one of you was more than the other.”

K.I.T.T was silent. Charles went on. “Try this idea out. Instead of thinking that one is lesser and one is more. Think equally. There are many things that you can do that Katherine cannot. There are also many things that you cannot do, but Katherine can. You give each other balance.”

“You're saying that we are a set,” K.I.T.T said. “We’re partners.”

He nodded. “Separate, you each have your weaknesses. Together, you can be unstoppable. As long as you both work with each other as equals.”

“You've given me a lot to process.” K.I.T.T said.

Charles patted his hood. “My work here is done.” He smiled and got to his feet. “I think I shall retire after all.”

“Good night,” K.I.T.T said as Charles headed up the stairs.

 

********

 

Kat opened her eyes and groaned. She stretched out across the backseat. Her leg responded to the motion by sending fire up her thigh. She winced. “What time is it?”

“5 am exactly,” K.I.T.T answered.

“Oh dammit, I'm still waking up too early,” she muttered. “No one around here gets up before six.”

“I could tranquilize you,” K.I.T.T offered. “My darts would knock you unconscious for about an hour.”

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the moving circle,” Kat muttered. “Hey, can you play my favorite Christmas song? Christmas passed and I didn't get a chance to hear it.”

“Certainly, if you give me the name.”

“'Carol of the Bells' by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. And put the volume up.” Kat laid on her back and closed her eyes.

The first strains filtered through the interior. The speakers in the back catching the bells perfectly. Kat drummed her fingers on her stomach as the music picked up.

She had always loved this song. It was rich and powerful, but still had that slight Christmasy feel to it, only much more intense. Listening to it inside of K.I.T.T, with his surround-sound speakers, immersed her fully into the music. She could even feel the notes vibrating in her chest.

When the last notes died, she opened her eyes. “KITT, sometimes, you are so cool.”

“I know,” K.I.T.T responded. He decided to keep the song in Kat's playlist. The playlist wasn't a list of music Kat liked, but music that he felt was similar to Kat herself. He had about a dozen different playlists for various people he knew. He liked being organized.

Kat sat up and moved to the front seat. “I finished the book Charles gave me on Attack Mode. We can start running simulations after breakfast.”

“Sounds like a plan. By the way, since Christmas is over now, can you remove the tinsel and the mistletoe and holly? I don't know if I like looking so 'festive'.”

Kat laughed. She reached up and began untying the bundle of mistletoe and holly. “So, did it bring you luck?”

“If by luck, you mean Carmen kissing my hood when she spotted it, then yes.”

Kat snickered. “There are worse things than getting a kiss from a cute girl on Christmas.”

“If you say so.”

“Here, one from me.” She kissed two fingers and pressed them to his steering wheel. “Now you're popular.” She laughed as she opened the door and climbed out. She de-tinseled him and then headed upstairs for breakfast.


End file.
